For me, the year tends to start pretty slow musically, with a few months passing by before I find albums I really connect to. In 2022 though, I didn’t make it out of January without finding some absolute bangers. Last week it was “Multiverse” by Reptaliens, and now I found myself loving “Last Room” by waveform* (the asterisk is very important). While this technically came out on Bandcamp in 2020, it’s just now hitting other streaming services and is a great spin for any fan of slower indie rock.
The indie rock sensibilities are immediately apparent on opening track Favorite Song, which features a methodical strum with an emotive downbeat, melting into longing vocal harmonies. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow” and “I’m getting tired of being alone” are plaintive expressions heard throughout the annals of indie rock but there’s a reason for the universality, when over the right plucked chords and delivered as well as they are here, it always manages to resonate.
The highlights keep coming, “Shooting Star” is a particular favorite, with an wistful yet upbeat chorus over lines like “I want to bleed from the inside” making an interesting contrast in tone that is in some ways more impactful than if everything were gloomy. It, like most tracks on the album, is characterized by a disconnect from one’s surroundings, a longing for something that is at once already here and that never existed. Waveform* wield this ennui expertly and bring it out through individual evocative images (“I want to cut your hair”) that at once mean nothing yet say everything they need to.
“Last Room” is a comfort album, which is weird to say as it isn’t the happiest of listens. But it hits that sweet spot of indie rock cliches that are executed to near perfection. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but instead smoothing the edges to make one hell of a ride.
-Erie