Day Wave’s Headcase EP starts out on the happiest synth notes and poppiest drum beats, then flips the notion of being a bored child with nothing to do on its head. Jackson Phillips, the Oakland man behind Day Wave, sings:

“I’m not a kid anymore / I wake up at 1 / So what am I good for? / Besides trying to have fun / I do whatever I want / But I still want more / I do whatever I want / Why am I still bored?”

Between this and the falsettos and muted synths of “Total Zombie,” Day Wave provokes eerily similar feelings to those of 2010-era Cloud Nothings and Wavves, but where Nathan Williams is over the top, Day Wave is sincere. Where Dylan Baldi is long-winded, Day Wave is short, sweet, and to the point. Phillips tackles loneliness and rejection on “Drag,” self-doubt and confusion on the especially Wavves-like “We Try But We Don’t Fit In,” and self-deprecation on the title track, proving Day Wave isn’t just another beach band, but a beach band with complicated feelings and emotions beyond “I wanna get high” and “I wanna go to the beach.”

(via Fader)

Headcase is out 7/17.