Wives – So Removed – Album Review
by Killian Laher

If you really want to categorise them, Wives are yet another New York based bunch of hipsters, but there is more to them than that.  From the opening Waving Past Nirvana they seem to have all the ‘right’ elements in place, drawly, snarly guitars and some, for want of a better word, prissy vocals from Jay Beach.

There are definite shades of The Strokes on this one, with some downright singalong choruses on The 20 Teens, Sold Out Seatz and Hideaway (“doing all the cocaine in the world”).  They get into their stride when their guitars crunch a bit harder on the controlled, growling rockers Hit Me Up, Even The Dead and the towering Why Is Life.

Nervous short, sharp shocks like the 2 minute Whatevr add to the general jittery feel of the album.  On the other hand Workin’ builds slowly, over scuzzy, dirty yet melodic guitars into a long drawn out anthem, before descending into a noisy ending.  The album finishes with an old-fashioned, almost doo-wop sounding The Future Is A Drag.

The album is either high-quality indie landfill, or a really promising debut album for 2019.  The trouble is the more you listen, the more the album pushes you further onto the fence.

Track List –

1. Waving Past Nirvana
2. The 20 Teens
3. Servants
4. Hit Me Up
5. Whatevr
6. Even The Dead
7. Why is Life
8. Sold Out Seatz
9. Workin’
10. Hideaway
11. The Future is a Drag

Waving Past Nirvana