Wax Chattels – Wax Chattels (Flying Nun)

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Wax Chattels made a name for themselves for their raw and visceral live shows. With their self- titled debut, the band have cemented themselves as one of New Zealand’s most exciting indie acts in recent years.

The Auckland-based trio have captured the live ferocity of their “guitarless guitar music” beautifully. Melodic yet ruthlessly dissonant, Wax Chattels takes full control of their powerful sound that comprises of drums, bass and a keyboard with such skill that it’s easy to forget or even care that there are no guitars. If that isn’t number 8 wire Kiwi ingenuity, then I don’t know what is.

The true beauty of this 10 track album lies in the compositional tension of each song. Wax Chattels feels viscerally post-apocalyptic; a damning soundtrack you can dance to as the world burns.

Keyboardist/vocalist Peter Ruddell maintains a wonderfully nihilistic bite on tracks such as Stay Disappointed and In My Mouth. The lethargy of his words juxtapose wonderfully against his psychotic keyboard playing. This in turn offers a counterpoint to Amanda Cheng (bass/vocals) who delivers a standout performance on Career.  Amidst a chaotic dirge, her breathy vocals descend into anarchy as static swirls around her that isn’t dissimilar to Crystal Castles I or the self-titled EP of Yeah Yeah Yeahs . While Tom Leggett (drums) balances blast beats with loose free flowing jazz hooks which only adds to the cacophony.  In an interview, Wax Chattels mentioned that they met in Jazz school, but you can’t really hear it in their music. I’d beg to differ. Free Jazz is, at least, organised chaos. The music Wax Chattels makes threatens to spiral into disarray, but the real skill is keeping the sound and energy contained yet on edge and the band pays homage to this technique spectacularly well.

As a band, they manage to wear their influences on their sleeves while maintaining a sense of uniqueness and sense of self.  If you like the sass and grit of Crystal Castles and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the melodic drone of Swans, the industrial post-punk assault of Gang of Four or Suicide, the creepier parts of Bjork and Portishead  or the frenetic energy of early Die! Die! Die! or Bang! Bang! Eche! you will love this record. Because I know I do.

One of the best and most exciting debuts I’ve heard in a long time.  Check it out.

Wax Chattels is due out on May 18th.

Kate Powell

The 13th Floor
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