“F*** Trying To Prove Yourself”
WAAX’S FRONTWOMAN Maz DeVita On ‘Angel’s Mess’, Girl Moshes and Finding Clarity
Written By Siena Robb
After four years between releases, WAAX RETURNED TO Australian stages armed with a new record and a renewed sense of purpose.
For frontwoman Maz DeVita, ‘ANGEL’S MESS’ represents more than just another album cycle. Written across several years and recorded during an intense studio stint in Los Angeles, the record marks a period of personal and creative growth, one defined less by proving herself and more by trusting her instincts.
Returning home to tour the album has brought a new energy to the live show.
“It feels really good because I’ve just put out an album and so that really makes it a lot more fun because I’ve got new material to play and people have heard the new record. It feels like it’s a new chapter rather than just coming back and playing shows, I love playing the old stuff. But yeah, I’m really proud of this new record, I’ve just been psyched to play it to people.”
While ‘Angel’s Mess’ may feel effortless to listeners, DeVita explains that the process behind it differed significantly from previous WAAX releases.
“The way that this record has come together is quite different to how I’ve made records before. I’ve worked on writing it for the last three years but I recorded it in this crazy one to two month block where I was in the studio every single day, toiling away at this thing and it just drove me nuts! It happened really fast, I only finished recording it in November last year and it came out in March so that’s like the fastest turn around as well.”
“I don’t know, I guess I just really wanted to make my life difficult and put a super ridiculous deadline on myself. We were like ‘Let’s just book a tour’ and then we’ll just have to do the record! But I really liked that, however I don’t know if I would make a record that fast again, I kind of like to take my time with things, but it’s cool to try different things, and I just think this album is so fun, I’m definitely leaning into more my fun side for this one.”
That sense of fun became one of the driving forces behind the album.
“I just felt like there was a lot of darker energy from my last records and I just wanted to have fun with it. The way I put this record together is different and the way I feel right now is different. When I was writing the record, even though I was going through some harder times, I was really optimistic even though I was scared because I was also just like ‘Well, I’m moving to a new country, this is optimistic.’”
“There’s new energy around me. There’s new collaborators, and there’s a lot of heaviness in the world right now. So I think it’s nice to have some moments of having a laugh and doing something silly.”
When asked what Angel’s Mess represents for her in comparison to previous releases, DeVita’s answer comes immediately.
“I think it represents clarity. I think by this point in my career and my songwriting, I have a really good idea of what I’m trying to do. It didn’t come just like that, it took a few goes to get there. You know, even though I’ve always had an identity with my music, now I really f****** know what I’m good at, what my strengths are, and I’m very comfortable in the studio, and as a songwriter, I can feel the shift.”
That confidence wasn’t always present throughout the recording process.
“There was quite a few tracks on this record that I just was not sure about. The last track on the record ‘Don’t wanna die in the suburbs’ was such a shift in mood for me and trying to nail that in the studio was a real pain in the a** because I just couldn’t get it right, we were just throwing everything at it and it only came together at the very last minute.
“I finally felt one-hundred percent comfortable with it and just the way the song came together was different, I had different writers in the room with me, but it was really exciting because I got to start working with Alisa Xayalith. It was just a different vibe for me and getting there took a while but i’m so glad we got there.
“‘Love you to death’ was also a really tough song to crack because when we first demo’d it out, I wrote it with Gab Strum and it was quite pop sounding, and i was like ‘Well I still wanna make a rock record in a way so how can we reengineer this so it feels more like a rock song but with a falsetto vocal in the chorus?’ which is something i’ve never really done before. So yeah, there were a couple of hard nuts to crack.”
One song in particular tested her comfort zone for an entirely different reason.
“I was also questioning myself when I wanted to put out ‘UH OH (Bardcore Girls)’ because it has so many f****** swear words in it, and when I wrote it I said to my producer ‘Man, this is really… I’ve never said c*** before in a song!’ and he was like ‘No, just do it!’ and I was like ‘Okay I’ll say it again, but you really shouldn’t give me that power, ‘cause I will abuse it!’
“He is so fun to work with too, I made my second EP with him about ten years ago, so it was kind of a full circle moment working together again, and because we’ve known each other for so long, we are very comfortable with each other, he has been so supportive and just let me go wild and just do all my craziest ideas. Like the toilet flush and so much other ridiculous stuff.”
Recording Angel’s Mess also marked the first time De Vita had made a record outside of Australia.
“It was like the first time I’ve made a record outside of Australia, with all new collaborators, so it was a real process. I was trying sessions with different producers and different musicians to really find the right fit and through that process I’ve found some incredible collaborators in LA that I just adore.
It was a completely different environment. I’m used to recording in Australia, and having a lot more resources, I’ve only been in LA for two years so I’m still finding my feet in a way. Trying to find the right people to work with was an interesting journey but everyone is such a pro over there so it’s not too hard to find the people you need, you know?”
Throughout the album’s creation, one recurring word continued to surface.
“The key word we said was ‘drama’. I’ve always wanted drama in my songs, even if the album is darker or more fun, I still love having dramatic moments, with lots of tension. When I was a kid I listened to a lot of Queen and that really showed me what is expected from a song, drama.
We were finding our feet really, the entire time, that’s why I called it ‘ANGEL’S MESS’, because it kind of came together a bit messy, but it all worked out!”
For DeVita, visual inspiration often begins with imagining a song in a live setting.
“I think for me, the biggest marker is always how I would be able to imagine it in a live atmosphere, sometimes when I write I have visual queues and things like that but a really good indicator for me is when I can really visualise seeing a track live, that is my gold star.”
The album itself emerged from a period of uncertainty, during which DeVita questioned whether music was still a path she wanted to pursue.
“When I first started writing the record, I was really just writing because I needed to for my own sanity, the band was on hiatus and I was convinced my career was done in performing.
“I was like: ‘I’ll just write for other people, and go and hide under a rock forever.’ Because I’d been doing it for so long, and I’ve been through so much messed up s*** that I just thought ‘I don’t know how much more I can do’. But then I started writing these songs and thought ‘Hang on, I’ve been writing these songs, why do I have to walk away from it? I’m not ready to.’
The first few songs were written out with the thought of ‘I need to get this out, I need to heal and I need to restore faith in myself and my confidence.’”
Even lighter moments found their way into the record. One example is a very Australian reference tucked into ‘UH OH (Bardcore Girls).’
“I did love the Kath and Kim reference in ‘UH OH (bardcore girls)’ by the way.”
‘YES, I AM HIGH MAINTeNancE, ‘CAUSE IT’S MY F****** RIGHT’
“Me too, I am such a Kath N Kim fan, I grew up on that s***. I just thought it couldn’t be more me, having that as a reference on the record, because I think if you know me personally, you’d know that it’s very much in my DNA.”
The success of Angel’s Mess has also changed how DeVita views the future.
“This record has given me a lot more confidence to really push my boundaries, and I’m already really excited to start working on my next material. I think that’s because I feel really strong in my ability to really go further with my next record and see how much crazier I can get in terms of production.”
That confidence extends beyond songwriting and into her relationship with the wider music industry.
“It’s taken me a long time to figure this out even though people have tried to tell me, and that is that you need to just do you. There is so much in the industry, everyone thinks they know what’s best for you and what you should be doing and at the end of the day, you only know what’s best for you.’
“I think when you first come into the industry everybody is like ‘I’ll take care of this, I’ll take care of that, you just worry about the art.’ and I think through going through some harder lessons I have worked out that I always knew what was best for me and I didn’t need to do what people told me to do.
It’s a different landscape now from when I first started. Even in the last few years the way you release and receive music is completely different, as well as content creation and all of those things. My last album came out four years ago and in that time TikTok exploded and there’s all these expectations on that.
But again, I think it’s really important to just stay true to what you do and what you feel comfortable with, people can really sniff it out if you’re not being authentic. It takes so much to prove yourself in the industry these days and I just think ‘Fuck trying to prove yourself, do what feels right. I’m tired of trying to convince people that I’m good at what I do. I’m doing a thing and if you’re on board, hell yeah and if you’re not f*** off.’”
“Luckily I’ve found people on my journey that really believe in what I do and that’s awesome. I’ve just allowed things to come to me, by doing what purely feels right to me. I could go on forever about that! I just have so many opinions about the industry.”
Fortunately, the response to Angel’s Mess has reassured her that trusting those instincts was the right decision.
“It’s been so beautiful, after every show I’ve been going to the merch desk and signing people’s records and seeing the response and it means so much to me. Because I did this completely independently and really put my whole body on the line for this record, if it wasn’t gonna work I’d be kind of screwed in so many ways.
So, the fact that it’s worked and people are into it has just been such a blessing to me and I just feel so grateful that people have taken the time to come and support me and be a part of the journey. So it’s been awesome.”
One song in particular has become a standout live moment.
“We’ve been doing a girl mosh every single show during ‘UH OH (Bardcore Girls)’ where anyone in the crowd can come up on stage and we just have a safe space where you can feel comfortable to have a mosh.
For me, as a punter, I’ve always felt uncomfortable in those spaces, because there’s often a lot of big dudes in the way. Also, as a performer I have so much anxiety about girls getting crushed or feeling uncomfortable in the mosh. You can see it on their faces sometimes. It’s the worst feeling ever.
So I just really want to cultivate a culture where they know they can let loose without feeling scared, anxious or like they don’t belong there, because they do.”
As for what’s next, DeVita is keeping things open-ended.
“I’m just going to start writing again. I feel really inspired to keep going. I’ll probably be p***** at myself later but I really miss the studio. When I’m on tour I miss the studio, when I’m in the studio I miss touring.
So I am really excited to start writing again, it really fills my cup. I know a lot of artists start out as recording artists and then have to figure out the live performance later, but for me it was the other way around. I was like ‘Let me scream on stage for two beers’, before I even recognised I was a songwriter. I was like ‘Oh, you mean the words I have to write so I can scream on stage?’
“I didn’t even consider myself a songwriter until someone called me one. But yeah, no firm plans, just taking it as it comes!”
