Big Grief

The album artwork was created by Cristina Daura.[4] Describing the album, frontwoman Maz DeVita said:

"The whole album is about grief for so many things that I felt when we were writing the record and still do now. The way the world is so volatile at the moment, our environment, I talk about anxiety, mania, cutting ties with old friends and habits, my problems in the past with body image, and it's almost like a big mourning for all that. It's definitely an outpouring of grief in every sense of the word. But as much as I explored darker themes for Big Grief, I framed my melodies and vocal very colourfully and lively."[1]

Shortly after the band signed to Dew Process they released their first single "Labrador" on 27 April 2018.[5] The music video was released on 8 June.[6]

On 24 February 2019, the band posted the date "27.02.2019" to their social media accounts, hinting at a new single release.[7][8] The second single, "FU", was premiered on Triple J's Good Nights segment, and was then made commercially available a day later.[9][10] On 9 April, a music video for "FU" was released.[11]

On 14 May, Waax released their third single "I Am". On the same day they also announced an national tour for August, after their USA and Canadian tour.[12] On 18 June, the music video for "I Am" was released.[13]

The single "Labrador" as being about the Gold Coast suburb Labrador which frontwoman Maz DeVita described as a place where a significant relationship ended in her life.[14] Speaking about the single "FU", DeVita said: "This song is about a situation with someone in your life who is taking advantage of you and finally having to acknowledge reality and stand up to them. I hope it’s as cathartic for the listener as it was to write."[15] The track "History" details DeVita's experience in her teenage years wherein she suffered from an eating disorder.[2] "Fade" is about a friend of DeVita's who went through a hard time being victim blamed and having no one believe them.[2] DeVita explained the single "I Am" as being "about wanting to please someone so much that you forget who you are in the process."[12]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Depth	8/10[16]
Hysteria	9/10[3]
The Music	[17]
Wall of Sound	8/10[18]

The album received positive reviews. Jack Walsh from Depth magazine praised it saying the album's good points were: "Empowering words through hard themes. Nice runtime. Incredible production. Vocal skills are untouchable." However criticised the bad points as: "At times it feels more like a collection of singles than a cohesive and continuous vibe."[16] In a positive review from Wall of Sound, Rory McDonald said: "Big Grief is gold from front to back. [...] the band has stayed true to their authentic brand of punk and they have served it up nicely."[18] In a 9-out-of-10 review, Hysteria praised DeVita's emotional vocal delivery of the lyrics.[3] The Music, in a positive reviews states that: "WAAX have redefined what it means to be punk in the 21st century. This is an album that makes a point, one that sits on the top end of the anguish scale without sacrificing the band's melodic ingenuity."[17]

Track listing adapted from Apple Music.[19]

Adapted from the album's sleeve.

Big Grief at Discogs (list of releases)