photo courtesy of Scott McDonald

Single Review of Scott McDonald: “Wave” (Bongo Boy Records)

“Wave,” a Scott McDonald single that dropped in the spring of 2025, in advance of his summer 2025 full-length album release See It Through, absolutely rocks! It’s been in my playlist for quite a while not, but of course, if you haven’t heard it yet, it’s new to you.

image courtesy of Scott McDonald

If “Wave” is any indication, McDonald is a talented axeman with a penchant for writing catchy, hook-laden songs. Certainly, now that the single has risen to the top of my review queue, it has made me excited to circle back and check out the rest of the album. For now, though, I’ll focus on the single I’ve been enjoying for many months.

The song kicks off with raw, rockin’ guitarwork, which is joined by other instrumentation, then big-sound, cheerful vocals, leading to a song-long uptempo, cheerful-sounding adrenaline rush. Some musical flourishes, tone changes, and key changes intercede, but the tempo remains steady, energetic, and insistent. During the verses, choruses, bridges, and guitar solo, the song is relentlessly energetic.

photo by John Bruno; courtesy of Scott McDonald

It’s also an oddly cheerful song, given its subject matter. It’ll make you smile, even as you’re singing along with lyrics about the end of a relationship: “I still wonder where it all went wrong. Tell me how it stayed alive so very long. I still wonder why it seemed to change. We were watching as it slowly slipped away. All we can do is walk away and wave.” Smiling, apparently, with rockin’ skip in our steps. Indeed, if this song doesn’t get you smiling, you don’t have a pulse. If you like guitar-driven, pop-friendly, hooky rock tracks, this will quickly become one of your favorite songs.

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As noted, following the spring 2025 release of “Wave, the album that includes “Wave,” See It Through, was released in the summer of 2025. I’ve only listened to snippets of a couple of songs, but “Wave” seems indicative of the overall sound, though as is often the case with a singer-songwriter-axemaster, the ratio of guitar-shredding to hooky tunefulness may vary from song to song.

Looking forward, Scott’s Facebook page seems to be a good place to remain up-to-date with his music.