The Brisbane punk-garage five-piece were too consumed with the task of completing their second EP.

But once De Vita opened up about the content of the lyrics, which articulated a chronological account of her battle with mental illness, Antolak said the band were blown away.

“It’s pretty personal stuff, but the record is almost there for people if they’re in the same place,” Antolak said.

“It’s their cry for help, so people can relate to it and see you don’t have to hold these things in if you’re going through troubles or a depressive state, you can talk about it and find help.

“It wasn’t so daunting to us, because we felt like these things need to be talked about and they shouldn’t have a stigma attached to them, it’s about depression and mental health.”

It wasn’t like Waax were unaware that their charismatic singer, who has been compared The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O, was struggling.

“It was a pretty traumatic experience for Marie to be going through this self-discovery,” Antolak said. 

“It was pretty hard on her, so we’d see it and try and support her as much as we could.

“I feel like she’s really come golden out of it, because she’s put it all inside the songs, so it’s almost like there’s nothing else to be said about it.”

Out of De Vita’s pain has bloomed an energetic, raw and melodic record. Wild & Weak’s title track and other single Same Same have attracted major airplay and announced Waax as possibly the next great band to spring from Brisbane’s fertile punk scene, that’s spawned Violent Soho and Dune Rats.

Waax formed in 2013 and released their debut EP Holy Sick in 2015.

Later that year Antolak and bassist Tom Griffin joined, moving WAAX’s sound from lo-fi garage into a more angular post-punk direction.

Waax headline the first No-Fi Friday at the Cambridge Hotel on September 1 with local acts Fritz, Voodoo Youth and Belle Badi.