Review: Weaves - Self-Titled
While Weaves may be the first time full LP that we’ve received from Weaves, hopefully it is the first of many albums to come. The self-titled album blurs the constricting restraints of designated genres, and sails across a mixture of styles such as punk, pop, and hints of grunge rock. Perfectly weird, and as approachable as old friends, Weaves encapsulates all of the qualities required for making a solid debut album. It grips the audience with its range of entrancing capabilities, while still leaving them thirsty for more. Packed with techniques that get in your face, as well as mellow rhythms that are more hypnotic than comforting, Weaves checks off every indie lover’s criteria for a good album.
Although Weaves is a complete album, each song offers a different example of what the bands potential could lead to. The album will deal out emotions of anger alongside unapologetic natures at one moment, and then will suddenly become a love-struck narrative the next. If the entire album reassembled one of its songs, Weaves would still remain a solid album. It is the consistent changes in styles and affects that push it to the best album it could be. With many debut albums, it seems as though once you’ve heard three of its songs you’ve heard them all.
This is definitely not the case for Weaves. You could listen to every song on the record except for the last, and you would still be surprised by what the group produces in the end. The exciting part about listening to Weaves is not only the variety of sounds, but while they all may be different from each other, each song is stellar on its own.
Every track in Weaves is packed with passionate vocals and unrelenting melodies. Simpler pieces such as “Eagle”, “Stress”, and “Sentence” are much easier to digest than other tracks included in the album. Other songs like “Candy”, and “One More” offer experiences that can best be described as musical rollercoasters. Guitar and other instrumental solos are very common amongst the tracks within Weaves. What was nice to hear in the album was that while guitar solos were a staple for Weaves, a variety of models and styles of guitars and melodies were used in order to make each song a unique experience.
Weaves leaves the impression that it is an album that will be talked about, whether in the near future, or shortly after the group gains attention. The harsh and entrancing vocals, alongside the experimental use of synthesizers and effects leave the audience in a state of anticipation for new material. Keep an eye out for the Toronto act in the future, because the music they produce is insanely wild, and will hopefully gain wide spread attention for them. Weaves is a perfect example of what happens when you mix musical creativity with raw energy. An album is made that is insanely addicting, insanely entertaining, and at times, simply insane.
