A hugely captivating debut.
Occasionally you’ll come across a new band who sound like of all of your favourite other bands rolled into one. If scuzzy alt.rock, heart-pounding emo and even upbeat indie fill your day-to-day playlist, California’s Super Whatevr may be exactly that.
In fusing that effervescent mix, they’ve created a debut album that’s both catchy and moody. From the sparky, almost Arctic Monkeys-esque ‘Bloomfield’ to the danceable, reggae-infused ‘Why Do I Wonder Why’, the group experiment but don’t get carried away. With vocalist / guitarist Skyler McKee’s distinct gravelly tones at the helm, things are kept cohesive.
Elsewhere there’s a simplicity to ‘For You’ that drives home a brain-tingling chorus, while ballad ‘Kathrin With a K’ changes the pace with an insistent, droning melody. Though a similar atmospheric hum suits ‘When Doesn’t The World End?’, heightening its sombre lyrics (“Hold me underwater / Drown me in the sand / Oh my god / You’ve got it all figured out”), it all adds up to a monotony that drags down the record’s second half somewhat.
Fortunately, the six-minute climax of ‘Loser’ clears things up, and resolves the album nicely – in a collision of tortured words, crashing cymbals and ringing guitars. It’s not without fault, but ‘Never Nothing’ is a hugely captivating start.
