We’ve featured several “one-man-bands” through the years of running GigRadar, but only one has ever made it to our New Band of the Week feature. But we’ve now doubled that tally as we unearthed Glasgow-based Caustic Waves‘ nostalgic alternative post-hardcore.
Caustic Waves is the work of Neil Thomas, who started working on the project three years ago when his previous band, The Chinaskis, went on hiatus with an album unfinished. Neil dusted off the Pro Tools sessions and did as much as he could before handing it over to be finished and mixed.
As he tells us: “This gave me the urge to start writing my own songs again, really just so I could have another music production project to work on. I started playing guitar for the first time in a while, and before too long I had a handful of riffs and ideas and started developing them into songs.”
That gave him a set of six demos to work with, which he set about recording properly in his home studio, around working full-time and a family life with a wife and two young children. So it took a while, as he learned and improved his mixing skills, but the result is a set of singles, of which he’s already released four.
The work didn’t stop there, as he now needed a name! As Neil explains: “Once I finished mixing the album, I started thinking about releasing and promotion. I was originally going to release the songs under my own name, but the music felt like it had its own identity compared to anything I’d released in the past.
“I also think people can have a pre-conceived idea of what a solo artist using their own name will sound like – i.e. acoustic singer/songwriter. As it turns out, there is another Neil Thomas who is a singer/songwriter, so I wanted to avoid confusion with him! I went through a pile of different names, but eventually settled on Caustic Waves.”
On the sound that he’s honed under the Caustic Waves moniker, Neil says: “My tagline is ‘alternative rock / metal / post-hardcore, with a pinch of 90s nostalgia.’ When I started writing the songs, I didn’t think about it too much and just naturally gravitated toward the sound of the bands I fell in love with when I was a teenager. Bands like Deftones, Incubus, Far, Kerbdog and Biffy Clyro are now part of my musical DNA, and when I start playing that’s the kind of sound that just comes out.”
Our first taste of this was the fourth Caustic Waves single Evolution. It opens up with stabbing guitars that continue as drums and bass kick in and supports an engaging opening verse. Heavier chords kick in as it flows into a big catchy chorus “If I see you again, Looking back with those poison eyes, Then you’ll see the future, The evolution of everything that I am, Everything that I am.”
Dual vocals add to an engaging second verse, which flows into another chorus. A little darting riff takes over alongside a cool combination of backing vocals, before a final verse and chunky guitars set up a final chorus.
On the track, Neil tells us: “The reception to Evolution has been amazing! This is the fourth single I’ve released since launching Caustic Waves in March, and the reception to each release keeps getting better and better. I’ve been working hard at growing my following over the last few months and I’ve been blown away by the kind and positive feedback I’ve had from so many people since the release. For anyone who hasn’t heard the song, expect a bit of a nostalgic trip back to the alternative rock and metal scene of the late 90s / early 00s – think Incubus crossed with early Biffy Clyro.” Check it out in the video here:
We also love the sound of the previous Caustic Waves single Idiocracy. It opens up with building noise that drops into a smash of heavy guitars that tee up delicious high-pitched chorus vocals “Is this reality? I’m losing faith in humanity, When sense and wisdom fails, Idiocracy prevails.” It drops into a slightly more laid-back verse, with the lines “I can’t believe the insanity, The damage has been done, By the flock of sheep who cannot see, Through the veil of treachery and deceit” that flow into another chorus.
The pace drops midway through, with light guitars and calmer vocals. But it gradually builds with repeats with more positive messages in the lines “The future’s not been set, There’s hope for us yet” and “The hate and fear will disappear the insanity will end, We’ll put our faith in those who’ll make us live in hope again.” Check out this awesome track here:
We also firmly recommend checking out Caustic Waves’ first two singles Invisible Enemy and Regenerate, which you can watch in the video below:
Neil’s biggest musical inspirations are listed above, but he also adds: “Musically, Helmet are a big influence. They have a very distinctive groove, and Aftertaste in particular has more of a focus on strong vocal melodies. Kerbdog are another big influence, and On The Turn is another great example of the perfect blend of heavy guitars and strong catchy melodic vocals. That’s always what I aim for – nice loud rhythmic guitars but with a strong focus on the vocal melodies and harmonies.”
And on what inspires him to write music, Neil explains: “There’s no overarching theme to the lyrics, I really just tackle each song individually and see where my thoughts go. My second single Invisible Enemy was written in March 2020, just as the pandemic was kicking off, and it’s really a snapshot of the fear and uncertainty at the time. I also dabbled with political themes for the first time on my last single Idiocracy. The song was named after the Mike Judge film and it’s really about my disbelief at the likes of Trump, Brexit, anti-vaxxers and flat-earthers. The video for that one was really fun to make!
There’s plenty more to come from Caustic Waves, including completing the single releases with two more to come – starting with Barriers on 7 October. Neil’s also been working on a series of vocal covers on his YouTube channel (link below), and he’s looking forward to writing and recording new music.
You can follow Caustic Waves on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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