Wavves: Spun

I’m still not certain what passes for pop in 2025. Or, more so, what passes for pop aspirations. Wavves have transformed their sound over the years, from lo-fi to garage surf rock to pop punk to just plain power pop. Which may just be natural maturation. Or a move toward vanilla-ness. But what if it were something more? If this was all a calculated and planned shift to gradually more and more of what passes for a radio friendly sound? Whatever “radio” is these days.

Piece of evidence number one, track one, “Spun.” It sounds like that mattress back in Boulder song, “Closer,” by those DJ fellas, The Chainsmokers, that was a huge in 2016. Okay, it doesn’t actually sound like it per se, but that’s immediately where my head went. And, hell, that’s a catchy song. Sure the lyrics are garbage (and, by the way, the guys are actually talking about Boland, a dorm at Syracuse University, not Boulder the city in Colorado — which would make the song actually make more sense) but it’s a banger of a pop song. And, frankly, so is “Spun” with its surfy Weezer-meets-qualifying-f-bomb Frank Black. If he were the aforementioned DJ asshats. It’s just pleasant pop music backed by guitar rock. Why not.

And, number two, song of the summer, “Goner.” Produced than non other than Blink-182’s, Travis Barker. I’m gonna say, shit’s a banger. Sure, it’s a simple and simplistic pop-punk ditty, but that’s kind of what songs of summer should be. Shiny and preppy and hook-laden. And so probably insulting to our intelligence it hurts, but I just don’t care. I need fist-pumping stupidity sometimes. And this song gives me all of that. I could have used more gang-singing, though. Like a whole chorus of dudes yelling “You’re gone! You’re a goner!” Hell yeah. Also, there are ooohs and handclaps. Beat that!

Yes, I realize that the purists out there will go be this a 5.8 out of 10 because there are some serious moments of silliness and amped up Death Cab or toned down Foo Fighters worship, but perhaps it’s just the ghosts of rock past coming back to haunt us with what could have been had pop music somehow maintained its rock trajectory (remember the early aughts!?) and not trended hip-hop, dance and Taylor Swift? I’m not saying Wavves would have been popular or anything, but their glazing of popular rock bands past wouldn’t have not seemed so misplaced. That said, I can see a world where Caviar could have been huge and instead of comparing Wavves to those other people I’d be asking if this was their “Tangerine Speedo.”