When Brisbane outfit WAAX split in 2023, a new album seemed off the table. Vocalist and driving creative force Maz DeVita had other ideas. Moving to LA in early 2024, she decided to continue WAAX as a solo venture and set about carving a sound that was fresh yet infused with the familiar punk-rock DNA of the group’s first two albums. In keeping with that balance of new and old, she began working with songwriter/producer Gab Strum, aka Japanese Wallpaper, while rekindling her partnership with Miro Mackie, who produced 2017 EP Wild & Weak. The resulting album is equal parts aggressive, discordant and unforgettably hooky (“HANDS”, “Love You to Death”, “Miss Pissfit”), with DeVita demonstrating an uncanny ability to go from sugary sweet to feral and vicious, sometimes in the same line. “UH OH (bardcore girls)” is inspired by her dream of playing in front of a femme-filled mosh pit (“Girls jump if you’re with me”); “Ur a Rat” is a kiss-off to a figure in her past (“You’re a rat, and I hate your guts”); while “HANDS” is a song of defiance: “I wanna get out of here alive/’Cause Maz DeVita never dies.” ANGEL’S MESS is testament to that.