Seattle-based post-punk outfit Weep Wave released their full-length debut, 2019’s S.A.D.to critical praise from KEXP, Seattle Music Insider, Raised by Cassettes and Dan’s Tunes among others.
In the five years since S.A.D.’s release, the band has been rather busy: They’ve gone through a lineup change, which has resulted in their current lineup: Dylan Fuentes (vocals, guitar), Mike Hubbard (drums, synth) and Mitch Midkiff (bass). They’ve released an EP and a handful of singles, one which was featured as KEXP’s Song of the Day that have gradually revealed an evolving and decided change in sonic direction. The band has shared stages with a handful of acclaimed and renowned acts including JOVM mainstays Los Bitchos, Blackwater Holylight, Gustaf, The Bobby Lees, Godcaster, Habibi, Reignwolf and Spirit Mother among others.
They’ve also made the rounds of the local and regional festival circuit, playing sets at Treefort Music Festival, Capitol Hill Block Party, South Sound Block Party and Off Beat Music Fest. They’ve done multiple tours up and down the West Coast — and they’ve even played few times here in NYC.
Slated for an Friday release through Corporat Records, the Seattle-based outfit’s 11-song Dylan Wall-produced sophomore album Speck was recorded at Seattle’s 7 Hills Studios and reportedly sees the trio embarking on a kaleidoscopic sonic odyssey through the diverse array of genres they proudly call home. Thematically Fuentes’ lyrics oscillate between two contrasting realms: outward to explore the effects of the perils of capitalism and climate change — and inward, to scrutinize the self, in particular dissecting the ego and self-identity.
In the lead-up to to Friday, I wrote about two of the album’s previously released singles:
- The Low Praise-meets-grunge-like “Rebirth Mantra,” a song built around a pummeling, most pit friendly riff, thunderous drumming and a supple yet propulsive bass line within a classic, alternating loud-quiet-loud song structure that captures Fuentes at his most introspective and neurotic, with the song’s narrator expressing his fears of feeling into the same unhelpful — and perhaps even destructive — patterns that always lead to repeated failure and frustration. The song’s narrator envisions a transformed, evolved version of himself, a much more caring, courageous and empathetic self. Of course, are we able and willing to change and evolve? Or are we too stubborn, too blind to do what’s necessary to better ourselves?”
- “Phasing,” a decidedly grunge-like ripper built around the sort of feedback fueled, power chord-driven riffs reminiscent of 90s alt rock greats like Nirvana, Mudhoney, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, complete with enormous, arena rock-meets-mosh pit-like hooks and choruses.
“Conscious Dust,” Speck‘s latest single and opening track is a Jack Endino-like grunge take on post-punk that begins with a intricate punk-meets-cheek-in-tongue Motown-like drumbeat and a fuzzy bass line. Fuentes enters the fray with a punchy chant-like delivery before the song explodes into a hypnotic and noisy mosh pit friendly ripper. As a single, “Conscious Dust” sets up the album’s overall aesthetic and thematic concerns as a sort of bold, flag-planting moment for the band and the listener. For me, the song kind of reminds me of Pearl Jam’s “Do The Evolution,” as a sort of tongue-in-cheek takedown of humanity and human consciousness.
“‘Conscious Dust’ is the first song I wrote for the album—and I intended it to be the first song on the album,” Weep Wave’s Dylan Fuentes says in press noses. It’s an ontological song that can function as playful mushroom-induced pontifications or absorbed as a reminder of the cycle of life. It speaks to a life cycle of having been here before but striving to do better than the last time.”
“I like how the chill keyboards balance the heaviness,” Fuentes adds. “I tried to create songs that feel like a journey, something you can get lost in.”
The Seattle-based outfit will be touring down the West Coast this Spring, and it begins with an April 5, 2024 album release show at Seattle’s Sunset Tavern. If you’re planning to be on the West Coast or if you’re a West Coast pal, check out the rest of the tour dates below.
Spring 2024 Tour Dates
4/5 – Seattle, WA at Sunset Tavern
4/6 – Tacoma, WA at New Frontier
4/12 – Chico, CA at Naked Lounge
4/13 – San Francisco at Kilowatt Bar
4/19 – San Diego, CA at Che Cafe
4/20 – Los Angeles, CA at Gengis Cohen
4/21 – Long Beach, CA at Alex’s Bar
4/27 – Denver, CO at Hi-Dive
5/1 – Salt Lake City, UT at Old Cuss
5/3 – Missoula, MT at VFM
5/4 – Spokane, WA at The Big Dipper