''Holy Sick'' is the debut EP by Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Waax, released independently on 29 September 2015 through SoundCloud, and commercially on 14 December. It was produced by

Konstantin Kersting Konstantin Kersting, is a multi ARIA award winning producer, songwriter and sound engineer. He has worked with a diverse range of artists, including Tones and I, Milky Chance, Mallrat, Spacey Jane, Amy Shark, The Jungle Giants, The Rubens, R3HA ...

and recorded at Airlock Studios in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. It was the last recording to feature bassist and guitarist Ariana Pelser and Elijah Gall respectively, only appearing on the track "Wisdom Teeth".

Background and promotion

Waax's debut single "Wisdom Teeth" was released on 23 May 2014. "Wisdom Teeth" was submitted to Triple J Unearthed and won on 28 July, earning the band a spot on the Triple J Unearthed BIGSOUND showcase lineup. A music video for "Wisdom Teeth" was released on 8 December. Their second single, "I for an Eye" was released on 3 June 2015. The music video followed on 16 July. Without any prior announcements, the EP ''Holy Sick'' was released on 29 September. The third single, "Holy Sick" was released on 4 October. On 16 December a music video for "Holy Sick" was released, two days after the EP's commercial release. Waax later performed a five-date ''Holy Sick'' EP Tour in December.

Writing and composition

The single "I for an Eye" has frontwoman Maz DeVita "questioning herself and her place, particularly as a female, in the music industry, followed by the anger at herself for feeling insignificant." The title-track "Holy Sick" has been described as dissing then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his views on immigration.

Critical reception

The EP received positive reviews. Jack Doonar from ''AAA Backstage'', praising the grungy hard rock sound, said: ""Holy Sick" is 11 minutes and 14 seconds of pure WAAX. Frontwoman Marie DeVita leads a young band that’s smart enough to known there’s more to rock than just turning it up to eleven." ''The AU Review'' rated it 8.7/10 and praised DeVita's vocal range saying: "

eVita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

has an incredibly wide range, going from angry howling to soulful and evocative crooning, sometimes within the same line." Carmel Lewis from ''Blank Gold Coast'' gave it a positive review, saying: "Waax and Holy Sick are an absolute pleasure, in a warped way, to see, hear, dance, laugh, cry and tear your teeth out to."

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

. ;Waax * Marie DeVita –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, album artwork * Elijah Gall –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(only on track 4) * Chris Antolak – lead guitar * Ewan Birtwell –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

* Ariana Pelser –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(only on track 4) * Tom Griffin – bass * Tom Bloomfield –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

;Production * Konstantin Kersting –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, mixing, recording * Scott Horscroft – mixing, mastering * Dave Neil – mixing, mastering * Steve Smart – mastering

References

{{reflist, 30em 2015 debut EPs Waax (band) EPs Song recordings produced by Konstantin Kersting