Wax On Water are basically Maya Damaris (Singer/songwriter/producer) & Steven Blessing on guitar. Drums are courtesy of Garren Orr.
Damaris influences are fairly clear in the music presented here – a taste for grunge, indy pop, electronica and artists like PJ Harvey and Japan – but this is no mere soundalike and Damaris has a fine voice, she mixes her music well, adding electronics and live instruments together and creating a tight and focused sound. They aren’t afraid of adding strings when needed and on some of the riffier numbers, the insertion of a string backing adds a great deal to the depth and swing of the song.
The themes here are varied – from ‘Don’t Bore Us’ which looks at ennui or ‘Seventh Son’ that covers the loss of self and recovering your personality and identity. ‘You Know When You Know’ is a powerful riff laden and Germanic look at having love as your higher power.
‘The Tree has a dark, grungey feel to it and contains a very strong vocal that shows off a lot of Damaris talents.
It’s a fascinating album, complex and with a boat load of different assaults on the senses, but it is really worth putting the effort into – a fine album.
