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Chair; new EP, 53

In theIr most dynamIc effort to da

te, Wavves fInd some demons to lean on.By dreW teWksBury. photographed By jay hannatide is high

He picks up the remote to his flat-screentelevision and switches to the game. Bullsversus Spurs. Williams, 26, and his Wavvesbandmate Stephen Pope, 27, have just finishedan interview with a 16-year-old blogger. He

just wanted to talk about weed the whole time,Pope says, his bleached mop-top floppingover the bong as he takes a hit. The actual

pope (now emeritus)Benedict XVIappearsonscreen, wandering around, looking lost.

Williamss mouth is open as he watcheshis teamthe Bulls, of course. He twiststhe flat bill of his baseball hat, then kickshis feet up on a coffee table strewn withbeer cans, the still-warm bong, sunglasses,video game controllers, and two medicinalmarijuana bottles, one with the word Jackscribbled across it, a reference to Jack Herer,the cannabis activist. Weed-reviewing siteLeafy.com dubs the indica/sativa hybrid quitepossibly the most awarded strain around andrecommends it to relieve stress and anxiety.Mission accomplished.

wish I could go back and tell myself to getbetter at playing live faster, he says of thoseearly days, when he debuted his bedroomrock to the world, at times disastrously. Mostinfamously, the singer broke down in frontof a Barcelona crowd in 2009, while touringin support of the bands critically acclaimedsecond album, Wavvves. In an online apology,

he blamed his behavior on a mix of Ecstasy,Valium, and Xanax, and the remaining dates ofthe tour were canceled.

After some prodding on the subject of darkplaces, Williams admits, There was a lotof drinking involved with this album. But hedoesnt want to talk about it. The game is on,the culmination of what seems to be a long dayspent sitting on the couch. I dont really leavethe house, he confirms with a laugh.

Williams bought the home last year. Not tooterribly long ago, he was living in his momsSan Diego basement. A stuffed antelope thathe picked up in a New York pawn shop staresacross the room, its glassy marble eyes sad, as

For two hours, we chat about video gamesand basketball. The question, Do you believein God? comes up. Occasionally, we touchon Wavves snotty surf-grunge sound andAfraid of Heights, the bands recently releasedalbum, which growls with distortion but swingswith 1950s pop song structures. Their mostcompelling effort to date, Heights offerscrystalline glockenspiel bits meshed with guitararpeggios on Sail to the Sun, and slow-burning, stripped down acoustics on I CantDream, with Williamss voice droning through

a blown-out speaker, I dont want to rememberanything. Other tracks pulse with propulsivedrums and hyperactive strumming perched onthe precipice of punk. Above all, it feels honest.

Holding a gun to my head, so send me anangel, or bury me deeply instead, Williamssings on the albums first single, Demonsto Lean On. Bold words from a band whosenoisy sound and angsty lyrics take a page fromKurt Cobains songbook.

This all comes from a dark place, Williamssays. I guess its nihilistic, but Ive beensinging Life Sux for years, and Im OK. I do

though it misses the African savannah. It kindofmatches the furniture, a collection of darkwooden behemoths that look mom-purchased,possibly from Pier 1 Imports. A drawing ofBiggie hangs randomly on a large, otherwiseblank wall. When asked which rapper Williamswould most like to work with, he replies, GucciMane. Four rows of sneakers stand near thehomes entrance, toes pointed toward the door,as if poised for a quick getaway.

We used to live around the corner fromhere, Williams says of his on-again off-again

girlfriend, Bethany Cosentino, who fronts theCalifornia-based/obsessed outfit Best Coast.The two met at a San Diego party when he was17. At the moment, theyre on-again, but hesays touring together like they did in 2011 wasrough. Never go on tour with someone youredating, Williams advises.

Right now, the Wavves frontman is producingnew music for Killer Mike and DaVinci, but forthe most part, the plan is to have no plan. Im

just taking it one day at a time, he says. I havea house for making music, and thats all Imthinking about.