Weaves do not play background music. Rather, the Toronto four-piece make colourfully chaotic, in-your-face, box-of-fun art pop that announces itself boldly, forcing you to take notice of its weirdness, originality, musicianship and fresh juxtaposition of influences and sounds.
Which might be why it feels like it’s taken forever for their first full-length to arrive. Each previously released EP or single – as well as the band’s live shows – has intrigued, blowing our minds in small ways and keeping us anticipating more. They’ve also benefited from their attachment to hyped local record label Buzz, which launches its No Fest music festival this weekend.
All of which is to say Weaves’ self-titled debut is finally here. And while each song is its own curious, maximalist wonder, it adds up to something fairly cacophonous. So much is happening in each trebly, dizzying track that there are few new heights to reach after the first three or four.
That’s not to say it fails. Jasmyn Burke’s keening voice remains a pleasure, her melodies memorable, her delivery unexpected, her lyrics lighthearted but not sugar-coated. (“I’m living in a shithole… / hoping for something to take me off this land,” she croons on Shithole. Coo Coo is about explosive relationships.)
Morgan Waters’s guitar lines are similarly inventive. No blocky, limiting power chords here, but instead zippy six-string lines that seemingly have a mind of their own. And the band was smart to place mellow, slowly building Eagle halfway through as a breather.
Human establishes an unexpectedly excellent groove halfway through and then unravels into an amazing off-time guitar part until its satisfying end. Early single One More stands the test of time its full-throttle approach makes for the album’s hardest-hitting moments. And soulful closer Stress proves Weaves can be calm when they want to be.
You get the sense of four kids at play, and while the ride can be exhausting, the fun is definitely infectious.
Top track: Human
Watch the new video for Tick at NPR. Weaves play the Horseshoe August 27. See listing.
