The WAEVE tonight. In session for Marc Riley at BBC 6 Music, recorded live on October 21, from the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios.
The WAEVE) formed in London, in 2021 by singer-songwriters and musicians Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall. They describe their music as “a liquid meeting of musical minds and talents. A powerful elixir of cinematic British folk-rock, post-punk, organic songwriting and freefall jamming.” They released their debut album, The Waeve, in 2023.
On 20 April 2022, The WAEVE officially went public by announcing that they would be playing their first live show and releasing their debut single, “Something Pretty”, the following month.
On 6 September 2022, The WAEVE shared details of their self-titled debut album while also releasing the first single from it, “Can I Call You”. The second single “Drowning” followed on 24 October, along with an announcement of a U.K. tour scheduled for March 2023. The Waeve then released third single “Kill Me Again” on 24 November 2022, and on 19 January 2023 they put out “Over and Over”, the fourth and final single leading up to the release of the album.
On 3 February 2023, The WAEVE was released to positive reviews, including from the likes of Clash, Uncut and The Quietus.
On 2 May 2024, the WAEVE released the single “City Lights”, produced by James Ford, via Transgressive. BrooklynVegan’s Bill Pearis called the song “a danceable widescreen ripper, with a nagging, distinctly Blur-y guitar riff, and it gives Coxon a chance to show off his saxophone skills too”, and NME’s Liberty Dunworth said the duo “hone in on their already-signature sound, and capture a bold, sultry chorus.”
On 14 May 2024, the band was the first act to perform at the new Co-op Live arena in Manchester, as the support act for Elbow.
The Waeve have cited Sandy Denny, John and Beverley Martyn, Kevin Ayers and Van der Graaf Generator as reference points for their debut album.
Anyone who cites VDGG AND Kevin Ayers as references immediately go to the front of the line in my book.
And it’s not surprising their music is brilliant.
Press play and crank it up – and grab the new album while you’re at it.
