Wax Head - GNAT Review
A relentless rush of motorik rhythms and razor-wire guitars, GNAT thrives in the tension between groove and abrasion, striking with both precision and chaos.
Wax Head’s GNAT is a gnashing, vicious little thing. In under half an hour, it tears through the ears with a searing mix of kraut grooves and noise guitar that doesn’t rewrite the garage-punk playbook so much as reaffirm just how vicious the genre can be. It darts, dodges, and strikes with the air of a seasoned professional. It's clear from each track that the band is no strangers to the ring. Operating like a well-oiled machine, they tow a careful line between the ear-splitting and the psychedelic, rarely letting either take full hold. Instead, they opt for clever blasts and punches matched by the nimble footwork of their grooves.
Much of GNAT feels like a tightrope act. Drums that shift between motorik rhythms and cascading blast beats. High feedback guitar against future-facing synths. Perhaps the only consistency is the bass, which grounds the chaos, like a microfiber net barely restraining a terrific beast. There are plenty of classic garage punk reference points here: distorted vocals, blaring alarm-like synthesizers, and chugging guitars. Comparisons to King Gizz, The Oh Sees, and Frankie and Witch Fingers feel not merely appropriate but welcomed. Like them, Wax Head are nourishing themselves on a similar stream of retro-futurism. The acidic psychedelia of the sixties, the star mapping sounds of German komische, and the bizarre rockabilly fantasies of American synth punk.
Yet what differentiates Wax Head from the crowd is the raw noise of it all. The guitar cuts through the mix like a razor across a throat. Emerging like a lightning rod, it transforms the grooves from a steady mushroom trip roll to a bad acid comedown. At points, it fights and floats around synths that bring neo-psych melodies. The light and the dark clash till they collide into either moments of brief euphoria or near-panic-attack terror. The vocals alternate between gnarly sing songs and barked commands, even at their softest, a rage seeps underneath them. The rhythm section remains a furious charge, the drums carrying a martial motorik charge across opener ‘GNAT’, occasionally opening into a ghastly funk on tracks like ‘Rusty Cuttler’. Their constant goal is an opening and closing manoeuvre, retaining tension and rhythm till they open like a beast's great jaws for gnashing psychedelic crunches.
That’s not to say that GNAT is an oppressive album. Its grooves are more Ty Segall than Swans, with every track carrying a clear bite. ‘Clatter Coats’ is a speedy piece of synthy chaos, with melodic basslines playfully darting in between screeched guitar and rhythmic synth lines. ‘Takeover’ is a joyous piece of horror, hushed robotic vocals and jagged basslines building tension before a noisenik chorus, the guitars fractured transmissions resembling Rowland S. Howard’s decaying radio creep. At points, there’s a near dancey-ness in the combined rhythms of the instruments on ‘Resin214’, creating a hefty groove that’s supreme enough to crush out any dead air. The whole thing is infectious, the band moving at such a rapid pace that they seem to chew up and spit out anything that crosses their path.
Yet what makes the album so replay-able is the band's clear creativity. Underneath its noise and psychedelia is a kid in a candy store approach to ideas. Subtle shifts in rhythms, styles, and noise that appear carefully designed only on repeated listens. The interactions between guitar and synth, the alterations between combined noise attack and odd melody, the band moves as a distinct unit, a sort of wasteland brigade traversing through an irradiated landscape. While their sonics are near crushing in their tightness and speed, they're not just pitting out whatever they’ve been chewing on for fun; it's nourishing them, and they're keeping some of the scraps on board.
The result is a surprisingly diverse release. One with as much room for can style grooves as it does for hefty Albini shredding and gazing synth solos. It works as much as a rapid blast of high-tension psych on a single listen through as it does as a collection of songs. Each showing off a delightful dark splendour in both textures and rhythms. Within the raging, ever-growing sea of garage psych, it resembles a venomous little insect flying above the waters. From a distance, you first notice the danger, then closer the splendour of its wings and movements. It's hard to observe because of just how quickly it darts in and above the sea, but it's there if you take the time to watch. If you do, GNAT will reward you with equal venom and beauty.