The Waeve (stylised as The WAEVE) are an English band formed in London, in 2021 by singer-songwriters and musicians

Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...

and

Rose Elinor Dougall Rose Elinor Dougall (born 13 March 1986) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. She was a member of The Pipettes and has performed with Mark Ronson. She also performs and records as a solo artist. Career Dougall joined The Pipettes in 2 ...

. They describe their music as "a liquid meeting of musical minds and talents. A powerful elixir of cinematic British folk-rock, post-punk, organic songwriting and freefall jamming." They released their debut album, ''

The Waeve ''The Waeve'' (stylised as ''The WAEVE'') is the debut studio album by the band of the same name, a duo consisting of English singer-songwriters Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall. The album was released 3 February 2023 by Transgressive Record ...

'', in 2023.

History

Background and formation (2020–2021)

Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall first met in 2004 during a gig at Islington's

the Buffalo Bar The Buffalo Bar was a music and arts venue located at 259 Upper Street, Highbury Corner, Islington, from 2000 until 2014. History The venue was situated beneath The Famous Cock Tavern, adjacent to Highbury & Islington station. The basement at ...

, in which Coxon was an attendee and Dougall was performing with

the Pipettes The Pipettes were a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by Robert "Monster Bobby" Barry. The group has released two albums, '' We Are The Pipettes'', and '' Earth vs. The Pipettes'' and released numerous singles to support ...

. However, a brief chat and Dougall convincing Coxon to buy her a quadruple brandy and coke was the extent of that encounter. They became properly acquainted in December 2020, when both were on the bill of the Live for Beirut 2.0 benefit show at the Jazz Cafe in London to raise money for victims of the Beirut warehouse explosion earlier that year. Following the gig, Dougall suggested to Coxon that they should write a song together. After exchanging emails over Christmas, at the start of 2021 they met up for some writing sessions and quickly came up with song ideas in a few weeks. Feeling that the music they were making had a shared identity, they decided to record an album and brought in James Ford to help flesh out the production. As both Dougall and Coxon are Pisceans and their complicated feelings towards Britain inspired their music with numerous references in the lyrics to water and sea, they decided to call themselves The Waeve using the old English spelling.

Going public and releasing ''The Waeve'' (2022–present)

On 20 April 2022, The Waeve officially went public by announcing that they would be playing their first live show and releasing their debut single, "Something Pretty", the following month. On 6 September 2022, The Waeve shared details of their self-titled debut album while also releasing the first single from it, "Can I Call You". The second single "Drowning" followed on 24 October, along with an announcement of a U.K. tour scheduled for March 2023. The Waeve then released third single "Kill Me Again" on 24 November 2022, and on 19 January 2023 they put out "Over and Over", the fourth and final single leading up to the release of the album. On 3 February 2023, ''The Waeve'' was released to positive reviews, including from the likes of '' Clash'', ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' and ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

''. On 2 May 2024, the Waeve released the single "City Lights", produced by James Ford, via Transgressive. ''

BrooklynVegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, United States and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, ...

''s Bill Pearis called the song "a danceable widescreen ripper, with a nagging, distinctly Blur-y guitar riff, and it gives Coxon a chance to show off his saxophone skills too", and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''s Liberty Dunworth said the duo "hone in on their already-signature sound, and capture a bold, sultry chorus." On 14 May 2024, the band was the first act to perform at the new Co-op Live arena in Manchester, as the support act for

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

Musical styles and influences

The Waeve have cited

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and

Beverley Martyn Beverley Martyn (born Beverley Kutner 24 March 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. At various times, Martyn has worked with John Martyn, Levon Helm, Jimmy Page, Dave Pegg, Richard Thompson, John Renbourn, Ralph McTell, Davy ...

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

and

Van der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...

as reference points for their debut album.

Band members

– lead vocals, guitar, saxophone (2021–present) *

– lead vocals, keyboards (2021–present) Touring members * Charlotte Glasson – violin, saxophone (2023–present) * Joe Chilton – bass (2022–present) * Thomas White – drums (2022–present) * Emma Smith – violin, saxophone (2022–2023)

Discography

* ''

'' (2023) * ''

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and ...

'' (2024)

Singles

* "Here Comes the Waeve" (20 April 2022) * "Something Pretty" (5 May 2022) * "Can I Call You" (6 September 2022) * "Drowning" (24 October 2022) * "Kill Me Again" (29 November 2022) * "Over and Over" (19 January 2023) * "City Lights" (2 May 2024) * "You Saw" (25 June 2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waeve (band), The English folk rock groups English progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 2021 2021 establishments in England