3 out of 5

Label: VHF Records

Produced by: Mitch Rackin (recorded by)

VHF Records has definitely put out some very loud albums, and back in the day, had some groups who enjoyed straying into punk or rock. So when Elkhorn‘s Drew Gardner had Wave Field announced, and the media copy claimed it as “the most out and out “rock” record on VHF in many years,” I’ll allow: I had some expectations of what that could mean. Elkhorn could already get pretty gusty on their lonesome, so if Drew was going to break out a full rock band – and the setup was there, with Wave Field’s list of players going for the traditional dual-guitars, bass and drums – I was ready.

…For some pretty low-key jams.

These are good! They’re fun. They’re not not rock, but it’s stuff my parents would probably be fine listening to for the most part. Whenever the group gets up to making some heavier bustle, which primarily happens on the B-side’s longer tracks, Drew brings it back in to a steady beat; a homebase sound of gentle psychedelic rock that’s tantamount to the downtime between solos on some 20-minute prog tune. This sounds entirely more dismissive than I mean it to – the skill here is in extending that vibe such that it never feels boring or like downtime. You can actively listen to Wave Field, it’s just more of a soothing listen than I was expecting, Carl Saff’s mastering sparing us the usual bombast he adds in order to keep us in the fuzzy groove Drew and the band create.

Where the aforementioned media copy claims Sonic Youth, I moreso hear Neil Young; where raga is mentioned, I’m hearing Shadowy Men surf rock. Young and Shadowy Men can certainly rock, but ‘Wave Field’ is more on the “roll” side of all that, and that’s a-okay.