King of the Beach, in Theory

Back when the cool kids were rolling in basements with rasta girls, skateboards, and whatever was being passed around—high-fiving each other through a haze I can only imagine—I was busy grinding my Pikachu and Goldeen through the Elite Four. Different life choices. Genuinely no regrets.

But if I’d been at those parties, Wavves would’ve been on. King of the Beach, their third record, is exactly the kind of fuzzy, sun-bleached California noise that makes bad decisions sound like a lifestyle. It doesn’t ask much of you—that’s a feature, not a limitation. Start with King of the Beach and Post Acid.

Stars is a different situation entirely. When Amy Millan sings, you shut up—that’s simply the rule. The Five Ghosts, their fifth album, doesn’t quite land with the full emotional devastation of In Our Bedroom After the War, but it still wrecks you a little if you let it. Nobody does the particular combination of love and its wreckage quite like these Canadians. Wasted Daylight and I Died So I Could Hunt You are the ones.

We Are Scientists put out Barbara, their fourth, and it’s a perfectly decent rock record—hooky, a little hip, not trying to reinvent anything. Rock numbers with a shot of individualism. It doesn’t need to be electronic to earn its place in rotation. Check Nice Guys and Rules Don’t Stop first.