Nathan Williams is back on top, sorta

Every artist has a different approach to making music. For some, isolation is the best means of evoking creativity. For others, it might be travel or change
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All Nathan Williams needed for inspiration was trips to the beach, skateboarding and smoking weed. 

Going under the musical plume de nom Wavves, Williams recorded his third record “King of the Beach” after a series of mishaps that made the blogosphere cringe and question whether or not he would be able to recover. After listening to his most recent album, it was clear he had not only recovered, but had succeeded at making one of the better albums of the summer. 

The album starts off with the catchy tune “King of the Beach,” which showcases the extent of Williams’ comeback. “You’re never gonna stop me,” the song continuously repeats, forcing the listener to believe what he’s saying is true. 

This theme of wanting to be at the top continues for most of the album but stops with self-deprecating tracks like “Green Eyes” and “Take on the World.”

With those songs, Williams expresses feeling about his friends loathing him and being lame. While the song strays from the theme of ruling the world, it allows the reader to feel a real human connection to him and his music. In fact, the album follows a realistic human thought process.

Many of the lyrics on the album reflect the basic human emotion of feeling both insecure and confident, which is why the album has so much appeal.  
In addition to being attractive in content, the album is more appealing sonically than his past two albums.

Instead of taking his usual lo-fi, bedroom approach, he chose to record the album in a professional studio — Sweet Tea in Oxford, Miss. — with Modest Mouse’s producer, Dennis Herring. He also had help from the late Jay Reatard’s backing band. The final product is a more polished, more accessible pop album.  

The songs are simplistic in structure and lyric, but that is part of what makes the album so much fun to listen to. “Convertible Balloon” and “Baseball Cards” are light-hearted and carefree and allow the listener to feel as if they are on their way to the beach.

In a time when a lot of indie albums take a hyper-serious approach to creating music, “King of the Beach” allows listeners to focus on something more fun. While the album came out this summer, it will keep people feeling warm and untroubled even when winter approaches.