On “What Have You”, from Netherlands rock outfit Stillwave, the band mixes a goth post-punk aesthetic with arena-rock, making for a sound that could fill a stadium but is also deeply intimate. The band’s frontman has a distinctive croon that resembles Wild Beasts’ Hayden Thorpe, who possesses a similar ability to alternate between brooding reflection and yelping emotion. Both ’90s rock and ’80s post-punk influences are clear through the rumbling guitars layered underneath, which fill the air with reverbed feedback over the bustling bass and emotive vocals. When the instruments and vocals surge by song’s end, it provides for a moment of release and finds the rock bliss inside the sadness. The guitar feedback resonates particularly effectively during the two-minute mark, which allows for the expansion of various shimmering post-punk guitar progressions and further impressive vocal turns.
