''Holy Sick'' is the debut EP by Australian rock band Waax, released independently on 29 September 2015 through SoundCloud, and commercially on 14 December. It was produced by Konstantin Kersting and recorded at Airlock Studios in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. 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 Triple J Unearthed is an Australian digital radio station and online music discovery platform. It is a sister station of Triple J, owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Unearthed began in 1995 as a regional talent competition open to ...

and won on 28 July, earning the band a spot on the Triple J Unearthed

BIGSOUND Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...

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 Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

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: " eVitahas 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 a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

. ;Waax * Marie DeVita – vocals, album artwork * Elijah Gall – lead guitar (only on track 4) * Chris Antolak – lead guitar * Ewan Birtwell – rhythm guitar * Ariana Pelser – bass (only on track 4) * Tom Griffin – bass * Tom Bloomfield – drums ;Production * Konstantin Kersting – producer, mixing, recording * Scott Horscroft – mixing, mastering * Dave Neil – mixing, mastering * Steve Smart – mastering

References

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