The garage rock duo escapes reality with their debut single.
Singapore-based garage rockers Wavebomb have delivered their steezy debut single ‘Facing Waves’, a rockin’ depiction of living in your own fake world, until the reality catches you up, drawing sonic influence from the likes of Nirvana, Bass Drum of Death, FIDLAR and Violent Soho.
Quintessentially brash, ‘Facing Waves’ is noisy and driven by heavy rock riffage throughout the near-three-minute track. Right from the get-go, this visceral slice of garage rock slides down the audio gullet with ease, rolling in with a foreboding and heavily distorted riff, sent from the hands of guitarist and vocalist Anthony Cauvin.
It’s hard-hitting from the off and seconds later, and with the introduction of drummer Charlotte Yu’s breakneck backbeat, the tempo just keeps on a-climbing until it’s almost impossible not to get swept along in its incredibly catchy narrative.
With aural nods to the likes of The Black Keys and White Stripes, the gritty, blistering track stands out for its swagger and off-kilter vocal harmonies, using the verses to expertly build up the anticipation to the chorus which pays off in spades.
Pulling fuzz, booming percussion and killer riffs together for an intense ride, the single tells the story of escaping reality when you feel like life has become too dark or complicated, highlighting the desire to go back to better days.
“‘Facing Waves’ is about living in your own world, up until that moment reality catches up to you,” Cauvin explains.
“Many times, I personally find it quite comfortable to just bury my head in the sand instead of facing my problems, but in most cases, it turns out that the longer you wait, the harder it is to resolve! We try to draw as much as possible from personal experiences when songwriting because we find it is more powerful if we can really relate to the songs that we perform.”
Accompanying the debut track, the band has released an infectiously fun, surreal accompanying music video for ‘Facing Waves’ featuring dinosaurs, puppies and people with TV heads, learning to skateboard, all in an attempt to blend in.
“Living in Singapore, we often feel that we live in a world where we don’t belong, surrounded by people who do not understand us, always ready to judge us and to bring us down. It is this aspect of our lives that we wanted to showcase in the music video,” Cauvin explains.
“So, the main message behind this is to stay true to yourself, to stay weird and don’t give up until you find your own way and accept yourself.”
First forming in 2018, the duo kicked off their musical journey thanks to a prompt from a mutual friend during a vacation in Bali. Beginning with a live performance, the duo took a deep dive into songwriting and began crafting their own tracks, specialising in a guitar-based alternative rock which balances punk artfulness with lo-fi sensibility.
Taking on the name Wavebomb, the band took a nod to the rebellious act against being told not to make waves while growing up, spawned from Yu’s own experiences not being allowed to play the drums in her traditional household.
“Charlotte grew up in a very traditional family from Taiwan, who forbade her to play drums. She was exposed only to church and classical music, piano and violin, but she decided to learn drums by herself, air-drumming every day,” Cauvin says.
“As she grew up, discovering rock music with the feeling of doing something rebellious, it helped her become who she wanted to be, standing strong for her ideas and lifestyle.”
Two years later, with a chemistry and energy second to none, the duo has finally released their debut single, and if this simmering earworm is anything to go by, we’re in for a wild ride with future releases.
Listen to ‘Facing Waves’ via Spotify.
