I really wanna show you my affection as we flip through my record collection

Wave were a Canadian pop duo made up of Paul Gigliotti (vocals) and Dave Thomson (guitar). Wikipedia says that their first single reached #1 on the Canadian pop charts, but what that means in terms of actual popularity, I have no idea (I'd guess it means a minor hit). Their first album, Nothing As It Seems, must have done fairly well, though, because they got to release a second album, State Of Mind, which, overall, was an improvement on their already good sound. When I was first searching for information about them, I found one site that linked them to BBMak and, though I don't know that the two bands really sound that alike (if nothing else, Paul has a very distinctive voice--which some people might find annoying, but I don't mind at all), I suppose I could see Wave popping up on a BBMak-based station on Pandora. Wave toured with O-Town but, ultimately, broke up after the 2003 release of their second album. They may not blow your mind with their originality, but Wave had a knack for making nifty little pop tunes.

California--Wave's debut single. I probably should have posted this song about a month ago; it feels like it fits with the waning days of summer, as teenagers who've graduated from high school realize that they're just about to go their separate ways, probably forever--some off to college, some to hometown jobs, and others off to anywhere else in the country as they seek something meaningful to do with their lives and something meaningful about life itself. That may make this song sound deeper than it is; Wave's style is this interesting mix between an almost Radio Disney type sound and something a little less poppy... The song has some undertones of hope, but I can't help feeling like a sense of melancholy or sadness creeps in at times, even despite that sort of happy ending--there's nothing truly wrong with one's life, but something's missing. At the same time, this is a very light, almost bubblegummy song; it just doesn't have the sheer exuberance about life that much bubblegum does--life could turn out great, but right now you just don't know.

State Of Mind--moving on to their second album, this song starts out inconspicuously enough--all right, but nothing to write home about. Stick it out to the chorus, though, where it gets all floaty and leaves you feeling like you're up there somewhere in outer space (just in feeling--there are no actual spacey effects). There are even strings!

Save A Little Part--a song about a breakup, with Paul pleading "Just don't forget about me, I'm asking you" before transitioning into the chorus (from which we get the song's title). None of Wave's songs are truly edgy or rocky, but this one has a bit more of that than most of them.

Until The Record Breaks--moving back to Wave's first album, we have this song, probably the happiest and poppiest (though still not A*Teens-esque poppy) of today's songs. It's been described as being about "music-geek romance," and I can't really put it any better than that. If you really want to be a harsh critic, you could argue that Wave's music is like rice--fluffy and light but ultimately unfulfilling--and that it's just disposable pop, but I'd have to disagree--their style of music is just so sweet and light (and cute, on songs like this) that you don't want to dispose of it.

To buy Wave's debut album, Nothing As It Seems, go here (physical) or here (digital; only valid for U.S. residents, though an equivalent site for Canadians exists); to buy their second album, State Of Mind, go here (physical) or here (digital; only valid for U.S. residents, though an equivalent site for Canadians exists) or here (digital; I think non-US residents can purchase it). However, both those Amazon links will take you to the album pages, but neither album is in stock, so eBay might be your best bet if you don't want to buy it digitally.

Next up: Wave are really great--choosing which songs to post today was very difficult (and I'm already thinking I skipped some of their best songs)--and will definitely be appearing here again. As for tomorrow, I'm not sure--possibly Jesse McCartney, but Alistair Griffin will be coming up soon, too.