in february 1996, the waifs relocated to melbourne, recorded their debut, eponymous album, "the waifs", which was released in may by independent label outside music. the band co-produced it with jen anderson and mick thomas of folk rock band weddings parties anything. aside from producing, anderson was a session musician for the album. jason macneill of allmusic described "the waifs" as "a more than adequate stab at troubadour folk and acoustic pop ... in some instances, the band is guilty of what can be termed funk folk, a style all too often used with little to no benefit". the group commenced a year-long tour of australia to support the album.