Wavves’ Nathan Williams has shared the details of his rerecorded solo version of Cherry Soda. The album, which is now set for release on October 30 via I Surrender, was originally set to be a joint LP with Say Anything’s Max Bemis. Then, last month, Bemis was accused of sending inappropriate messages to underage fans, leading him to cancel a planned series of acoustic performances. In a now-deleted Instagram post viewed by Pitchfork, Willams responded that he would be returning to the studio and finishing Cherry Soda “as a proper wavves album.”
As of today, Williams has also released “Pinesol” as the first single from the rerecorded Cherry Soda. (The Say Anything-credited version of “Deathx1k” appears to have been taken off of streaming services.) Describing the song in a press statement, he said, “I combined a bunch of cold cases I’d been interested in at the time. Mostly stories of ppl using household cleaners to try and cover up their tracks. I dunno. I got tired of writing about myself so I went Forensic Files on it. God I hate writing these press quotes. Wish I could drink some Pinesol right now.” Listen to “Pinesol” below.
Accusations of inappropriate behavior by Bemis were first raised last month, when alleged flirtatious messages with two teenaged fans were shared to the Say Anything subreddit. In response, Williams wrote on his Patreon, “I don’t want to be associated with the guy.” He later posted a note to his Instagram stating, “Not sure what to say but fuck Max. Fuck Say Anything. I’m sorry y’all. I spent 11 months making this record and Max spent 4 days so I dunno exactly what I’m supposed to do. I’m sorry guys.” Bemis has yet to comment publicly on the allegations.
Williams initially claimed a rerecording of Cherry Soda could pose problems: “The issue is 10,000 records are already pressed,” he wrote on his Patreon. It’s yet to be confirmed whether the new Cherry Soda will exactly follow the original’s track list and sequencing, but it does have new cover art.
