On the surface Wave Machines would appear to be a band that like to have fun with their music and don’t take themselves too seriously; rocking pastel coloured shirts and dorky(cool) schoolteacher style tweed suits, not to mention their captivating face masks carrying portrait images of their own physiognomy. The eyes in the masks seem to stalk you at all times and only the movement of their mouths is visible, resulting in a hella lot of surreal imagery - almost as if each member of the Wave Machines is a botox fanatic. However, if you’ve been lucky enough to catch Wave Machines live, there’s no way you could deny that this band take their music seriously. The live show is packed tighter than a Japanese train with fun and energy and the musicianship is tight as hell. They switch up instruments and roles often, expressing their extensive musical talents. They play so comfortably together – it’s clear to see why they have played big name festivals over the summer and have an extensive tour lined up.
They opened the gig with ‘The Stupidest Things’, the first track from their majestic debut album Wave If You’re Really There, which begins with twinkling keys and sparse percussion leading into a melodic track with ghostly sweeping synths. Lead Singer Timothy Bruzon brazenly sports the archetypal John Cleese pencil tash and pulls it off with some swagger. At times his falsetto is ball achingly high, especially on ‘Carry Me Back Home’ where it cleared stray dogs from a three mile radius of the Liverpool O2 Academy. The biggest crowd response of the night was shared equally between singles ‘I go I go I go’ and ‘Punk Spirit’, two excellent singles played to album quality by the increasingly impressive quartet. I just hope that Wave Machines find the time amongst their flourishing schedule to put on more show stopping gigs in their home town as they are easily the most accomplished live band out of Liverpool right now.
Listen to Wave Machines in Sopotify
