The Waeve at Koko
It seems difficult to believe but it’s now almost 30 years since Blur were leading lights in the Camden scene that helped spawn Britpop.
For their guitarist Graham Coxon then, performing at Koko with his latest project the Waeve, is something of a homecoming.
A collaboration with his partner, former Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall, The Waeve seems an intimate labour of love for both.
The duo’s sound is eclectic, with Dougall’s keys and vocals hinting at dreamy indie pop, and Coxon leaning towards Blur’s rougher, more jarring pre-Britpop sound with instantly recognisable guitar riffs. Peppered throughout a captivating, meandering set are saxophone digressions – with Coxon ditching his guitar to join touring member Charlotte Glasson on sax at several points.
The night starts strongly with two of the group’s best tracks included early on, the driving, brooding Love Is All Pain, which switches from Dougall’s floaty verses to a quirky Madness-like chorus. Then there’s City Lights, the title track from the pair’s second album. Its scuzzy bravado is evocative of passing through the shabby end of a metropolis in the early hours.
The slower, downbeat Undine begins a more mellow section of their set that includes the wistfully nostalgic Over and Over and the ethereal Eternal – The Waeve’s latest single. Remove the duo’s more jazzy wanderings and it’s a track that could slip alongside The Universal and To the End in the Blur canon.
As a gig, it’s a relatively frontloaded setlist – with matters beginning to wane in a more experimental second half.
There are still some highlights though, among them the couple’s folky ode to their daughter Song for Eliza May, and the Joy Division-esque new wave banger Moth to the Flame.
The Waeve do go out on a high, however, with an encore featuring their biggest hit to date, the quirkily dissonant Can I Call You. It’s a fun track that showcases the band’s clashing sensibilities – Dougall’s keyboard-led melodies and Coxon’s earthier fusion of rock and jazz.
Closer Druantia also provides a nice coda – with its extended notes and floating vocals drifting towards the night over a hypnotic rhythm.
It may be more than 30 years since Coxon was part of Camden’s young musical elite and more than 20 since Dougall and The Pipettes joined its raucous mid-2000s scene. But older, and perhaps a little wiser, with The Waeve, both continue to create music that surprises and delights.
Mark Worgan
Photos: Guifre de Peray
For further information and future events visit The Waeve’s website here.
Watch the video for the single Love Is All Pain here:
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