THE WAEVE – A Saxy Modern-Day Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra Pairing – Debut LP Out Now
Standout longplayers
3 February 2023
British duo THE WAEVE – aka Graham Coxon (Blur) and songstress
Rose Elinor Dougall – have their first collaborative, self-titled album
out today. Order info here.
NME talked with the pair about the longplayer.
DIY Magazine: “This self-titled debut from the pairing of Blur guitarist Graham Coxon and journeywoman songwriter Rose Elinor Dougall is a curious collection of contrasts. Most notably, that between the protagonists’ own voices; Rose’s a strong, smooth and often deep one with an almost RP accent; Graham’s his signature twang, faltering and vulnerable. The rough and the smooth rub up against each other – the squall of Graham’s guitar juxtaposed against slick brass, soaring strings or appearing just as the lyrical content threatens to veer into soppy territory… Cinematic in scope, often luscious in its arrangements, it’s a singular gem.”
Score: 4/5.
TUTV: Several tracks bring the thought to mind of Coxon-Dougall being a modern
day Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. As romantic, dreamy, and moony as the glam
stars were, but The Waeve explore other places too (alone or together), where it’s
rather darksome, misty and not glamorous at all.
Coxon‘s bedazzling saxophone play is everywhere. It creates a jazzy and smoky
night-bar coziness on the lullabies (Drowning / Over and Over / Undine), it glows on
the groovy hauntingness of Kill Me Again (one of the best singles of 2022 on Turn Up
The Volume‘s list), Sleepwalking and Someone Up There, and it goes over the top on the head-spinning psych pace of Something Pretty and on the ballad Can I Call You that
turns into a prog-rock jam midway.
Different moods, different sonic textures, with matching vocal performances.
Back now to another couple of spins, to get even deeper into the versatile
layers at play here. Join me, it’s a riveting ride.
Key singles/clips: Kill Me Again / Drowning / Over and Over
– KILL ME AGAIN –
Stunning sax-groover
– DROWNING –
Shoegazy dream pop reverie
– OVER AND OVER –
Romantic, jazzy duet
Full album stream
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