King of the Beach (Wavves album)

King of the Beach is the third studio album by the American band Wavves. It was set to be released in the USA by Fat Possum Records and in the UK by Bella Union Records on August 3, 2010, but digital copies became available July 1 as a result of early leaks.^[14] Pitchfork placed it at number 50 on its list "The Top 50 Albums of 2010".^[15]

King of the Beach
Studio album by Wavves
Released	July 1, 2010 (2010-07-01)
Recorded	Sweet Tea Studios
Genre	Indie rock[1][2] psychedelic pop[1] pop punk[3] surf punk[4] noise pop[5]
Length	36:42
Label	Fat Possum (US), Bella Union (UK)
Producer	Dennis Herring
Wavves chronology
Wavvves (2009) King of the Beach (2010) Life Sux (2011)
Singles from King of the Beach
"Post Acid" Released: June 9, 2010 "King of the Beach" Released: 2010 "Stained Glass (Won't Let Me Into Yr Heart)" Released: January 11, 2011

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Consequence of Sound	[7]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[8]
The Guardian	[9]
MusicOMH	[10]
NME	6/10[11]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[3]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Spin	[2]
Slant Magazine	[13]

The song “Idiot” was featured in the 2011 video game Saints Row: The Third.

Album cover

In interviews, Nathan Williams has stated that the album cover is a cartoon version of Snacks, his pet cat.^[16] A photo of Snacks was also featured on the cover of Best Coast's debut album, Crazy For You.^[17] Snacks died in February 2022, as confirmed on the band's Instagram page.^[18]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"King of the Beach"	Nathan Williams	2:38
2.	"Super Soaker"	Williams	2:29
3.	"Idiot"	Williams	2:50
4.	"When Will You Come"	Williams	2:35
5.	"Post Acid"	Williams, Dennis Herring	2:09
6.	"Take On the World"	Williams	2:42
7.	"Baseball Cards"	Williams	3:02
8.	"Convertible Balloon"	Billy Hayes	2:23
9.	"Green Eyes"	Williams	3:47
10.	"Mickey Mouse"	Williams/Spector/Barry/Greenwich	3:53
11.	"Linus Spacehead"	Williams, Steven Pope	3:14
12.	"Baby Say Goodbye"	Williams, Herring, Hayes	5:11
Total length:			36:42

• "Mickey Mouse" contains samples from "Da Doo Ron Ron" by The Crystals
• The Japanese CD replaces track 10 "Mickey Mouse" with "Mutant", and adds a bonus track "Stained Glass".

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2010	U.S. Billboard 200[19]	168
	Top Heatseekers	3
	Independent Albums	28
	Tastemakers Albums	10

As of 2011 it has sold 18,563 copies in United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[20]

Personnel

• Nathan Williams - vocals, guitar, keyboards, additional percussion, drums on "When Will You Come".^[21]
• Stephen Pope - bass, baritone guitar, synthesisers.
• Billy Hayes - drums, keyboards, vocals on "Baby Say Goodbye".

References

1. Lymangrover, Jason. "King of the Beach - Wavves". AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
2. Kornhaber, Spencer (July 2, 2010). "Review: Wavves, 'King of the Beach' (Fat Possum)". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
3. Cohen, Ian (July 1, 2010). "Wavves: King of the Beach Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
4. Keresman, Mark (August 18, 2010). "Wavves' addictive surf-punk makes it king of the beach". SF Weekly. San Francisco Media Co. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
5. "Wavves King of the Beach Review". BBC. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
6. "King of the Beach by Wavves". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
7. Coplan, Chris (July 13, 2010). "Wavves - King of the Beach". Consequence of Sound. Consequence Holdings LLC. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
8. Renshaw, David (July 27, 2010). "Wavves - King of the Beach". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
9. Hann, Michael (July 29, 2010). "Wavves: King of the Beach". The Guardian. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
10. Milton, Jamie. "Wavves - King Of The Beach". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
11. Nesbitt, Huw (July 29, 2010). "Album review: Wavves - 'King of the Beach' (Bella Union)". NME. IPC Media. Archived from the original on August 7, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
12. Dolan, Jon (August 2, 2010). "King of the Beach". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
13. Cole, Matthew (August 1, 2010). "Review: Wavves, King of the Beach". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
14. "Wavves Move Up Release of New LP | News". Pitchfork. June 25, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
15. "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2010 | Features". Pitchfork. December 16, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
16. Lindsay, Cam (August 6, 2010). "Best Coast Explain the Influence of Snacks the Cat". Exclaim!. Ian Danzig. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
17. "Take Cover: Best Coast's Crazy for You". Pitchfork. 9 July 2010.
18. "WAVVES on Instagram: "Words can't express what this little guy means to me. I'm not going to wax poetic. Short and sweet here. I'll see you on the other side brother 🖤🖤🤝🤝"".
19. "King of the Beach - Wavves". Retrieved June 22, 2011.
20. "Data". marathonpacks.tumblr.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
21. Insert of King of The Beach's CD

External links

• Video of the group recording at Sweet Tea Studios