Revelling In Freedom

Although it's hard to get a straight answer out of Californian surf-punk duo Wavves, to claim they're not taking things seriously is only seeing half the picture. Labelled in the past as slackers and stoners, Nathan Williams and Stephen Pope are two young men who are currently heavily invested in their music.

Started as a bedroom project by Williams in 2008, Wavves has experienced revolving band members and public meltdowns and yet their music, and their commitment to it, continues to grow exponentially.

After self-producing two albums at home, Wavves' true breakthrough came with 2010's King Of The Beach. By this stage Williams had recruited ex-band members of the late Jay Reatard, bassist Stephen Pope (who remains William's collaborator today) and drummer Billy Hayes. Together they created an album that stepped out of the harsh fuzz of the past and into hook-laden skater punk delight. Yet, despite the success and critical praise that came with this new effort, Williams' studio experience making King Of The Beach led him to the most daring decision of his career.

Working with producer Dennis Herring at Sweet Tea Studios, Williams found the pressure of constantly answering to a label (Fat Possum) about the album's progression counterproductive to the creative process. He even had to battle to keep his band members in the studio when the label requested he bring in more experienced session musicians for the recording. Because of these hurdles, Williams made the brave decision to separate from his label and make their latest release, Afraid Of Heights, completely self-funded.

“We didn't want anybody else to come in and have opinions on things besides the producer, because that's the way we'd thought we'd get the most done,” says Williams.

“I was a little nervous (self-funding the album) but luckily it worked out really well. It was the right decision to fund it ourselves, but there was a point in time where I thought, 'What are all the possible scenarios?' You play them all in your head, and you know that one of them is: nobody will like it and I'll go broke, and I'll have to work at Dairy Queen.”

With big-ticket pop producer John Hill (Rihanna, Santigold, MIA) on board, Williams and Pope (the Wavves line-up since 2011), headed into the studio and didn't resurface for a year. Things with Hill started off slowly but after a few nights of getting drunk together, the trio hit their groove and created the biggest Wavves production to date.

Far from being intimidated by the larger scale operation, Williams and Pope embraced the opportunity, taking on new collaborators such as Jenny Lewis who sings backing vocals on the title track, and a cellist to add strings to tracks like Dog.

“We just figured, if you're going into a studio you may as well use everything you possibly can. That's the whole point,” says Williams.

“That's why it took so long too,” insists Pope. “We didn't have much rest time… we would write songs in January and February and we'd come back to them in a few months' time and have a fresh outlook. Taking a year is also how we got everything on to the record we wanted to.”

Recently the boys were named as part of the 2013 Splendour In The Grass line-up, and also announced three sideshows with New Zealand's psych pop outfit Unknown Mortal Orchestra. It will be their third visit to Australia in so many years, so you would think things here would be old hat, but when asked what part of the tour they're most excited about, the answer is unexpected.

“Adelaide,” says Pope. “We're spending five days there… Adelaide is where they have the shark cage, right?”