ALBUM REVIEW: Hell To Pay – Latewaves
LATEWAVES were born on the beach in New Jersey in 2016. Comprising of drummer, Shawna Grabowski, guitarist and vocalist, Mike Pellegrino, and bassist and vocalist Howie Cohen, the three longtime friends decided in 2016 to start a band. After a string of successful EPs and tours, they decided to release a full length record. Therefore, Hell To Pay was born. Produced by Vinnie Caruana and Brett Romnes of I AM THE AVALANCHE fame, the album does not hold back from tackling issues like depression and anxiety. Hell To Pay is made up of eleven songs. However, most pop-punk albums tackle hard topics. So what makes LATEWAVES any different?
For starters, it’s the instruments. From the first guitar riff on opener, Extra Pain, this album demands your attention. It leans on the punk side of pop-punk, instrument-wise. With heavy guitar riffs and thumping bass lines, along with excellent drumming, this contrasts with the vocals. The vocals are very reminiscent of Simon Neil from BIFFY CLYRO on first listen. However, there’s also something distinct about them by the time that the second song, Stroke Of Luck (How Long) starts, that the comparison is needless. This is because the backing vocals are rougher, which – thanks to the flawless production – does not feel out of place.
Furthermore, despite the two songs being different, they do not ruin the pacing of the album. This shows that the band have taken the time to carefully craft the album. Enough Is Enough is the third song, and it is reminiscent of an early FOO FIGHTERS song. However, the comparisons stop there. This song has an upbeat pace that matches the pacing of the album so far. Although this is great, this does also mean that the songs do sound a bit similar because they run into one after another.
Thankfully, the fourth song changes that. It’s called Sympathy, and it starts out with a heavy, almost post-hardcore-esque breakdown, with thundering instruments. However, it does unfortunately slip back into the same up-beat tempo. The same cannot be said for the song that follows after, entitled I’m Alright, which is a slow song and a welcome break form the up-beat songs. Even though it is a slow song, it does not ruin the pacing of the album. This also goes for the next song, Guaranteed Burnouts, which is a heavy punk song. It is destined to rip through your speakers.
Send Me To The Moon feels like a MALLORY KNOX b-side that got passed onto LATEWAVES. However, this is not a bad thing because the band take that alternative rock sound and make it their own. The sound continues onto the next two songs, Too Much and Almost Famous. The pacing of the songs are up-beat, but with a drastically different sound. This is a welcome change, and showcases the fact that the band can cover multiple genres in one album.
The final two songs are similar to each other. However, they are different enough to differentiate between. The final song on the album, called Hell To Pay, is the standout. It starts off slow, and then builds up the instruments before going out in a final burst of colour.
In conclusion, Hell To Pay is a mostly stellar debut album. Despite a slightly rough start, the tracks are polished to perfection, and the band even cover different genres, although they mostly stick to pop-punk. This album is perfect for fans of FOO FIGHTERS, MALLORY KNOX and NECK DEEP. LATEWAVES have a very bright future ahead of them.
Rating: 7/10
Hell To Pay is set for release on June 4th via Know Hope Records.
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