WAAX
High-octane Australian punk with a raw, theatrical edge. Explosive vocals and jagged guitars create a space for total emotional catharsis and defiant energy.
High-octane Australian punk with a raw, theatrical edge. Explosive vocals and jagged guitars create a space for total emotional catharsis and defiant energy.
WAAX sounds like a pressure cooker finally blowing its lid. It is music built on the friction between tightly wound garage-rock structures and the wild, unpredictable vocal performance of Marie DeVita. The guitars are sharp and biting, providing a jagged foundation for songs that swing between melodic indie-rock hooks and full-throttle punk aggression. It feels like the moment a quiet conversation turns into a shouting match, but with a sense of liberation rather than dread.
What sets them apart is the sheer theatricality of the vulnerability on display. While many of their Australian contemporaries lean into a laid-back, sun-drenched aesthetic, WAAX is darker, more muscular, and significantly more urgent. DeVita’s voice is a versatile weapon, capable of moving from a vulnerable whisper to a throat-shredding howl within a single bar, making every track feel like a high-stakes emotional event.
Start with 'Big Grief' to hear the band at their most cohesive and powerful. It captures the perfect balance of their radio-ready melodic sensibilities and the raw, unvarnished grit that made them a staple of the Brisbane underground. It is the ideal entry point for anyone who wants rock music that isn't afraid to be messy, loud, and deeply personal.
Waax (stylised as WΛΛX; pronounced "wax") are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, Queensland that formed in 2012. The band was co-founded by drummer Tom Bloomfield and lead vocalist Marie "Maz" DeVita, who oversaw every iteration of the line-up until 2023. Waax have released two studio albums, Big Grief (2019) and At Least I'm Free (2022), as well as two independent EPs Holy Sick (2015) and Wild & Weak (2017). The band won the Triple J Unearthed competition at BIGSOUND in 2014, and their single "Labrador" won the No. 1 spot on the independent Brisbane radio station 4ZZZ's Top 100 in 2018. In 2019, the single was voted into Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2018 at No. 88. In 2022, they again won the No.1 spot on 4ZZZ's Top 100 with their single "Most Hated Girl". In April 2023, the band announced they were to go on hiatus. Following what were believed to be the band's final shows that June, DeVita announced in November 2023 that she would be continuing the band as its sole member.
Shares alternative rock, punk rock, indie rock (subgenres); basement show, festival, dive bar (atmosphere)
Shares studio polished, compressed loud, layered dense (production style); punk rock, alternative rock (subgenres)
Shares studio polished, compressed loud, layered dense (production style); indie rock, alternative rock, post-punk (subgenres)
Shares alternative rock, punk rock, indie rock (subgenres); basement show, festival, urban night (atmosphere)
Shares studio polished, compressed loud, layered dense (production style); alternative rock, indie rock, garage rock (subgenres)
Shares alternative rock, punk rock, post-punk (subgenres); basement show, festival, urban night (atmosphere)
Shares studio polished, compressed loud, layered dense (production style); punk rock, alternative rock, indie rock (subgenres)
Shares alternative rock, post-punk, indie rock (subgenres); studio polished, compressed loud, layered dense (production style)
Shares cathartic, vulnerable, defiant (moods); studio polished, layered dense, compressed loud (production style)
Shares alternative rock, indie rock, punk rock (subgenres); studio polished, compressed loud, hi fi (production style)
Shares belting, punk rock, post-punk, indie rock (signature)
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