The Wake:
Make It Loud:
LTM Records:
CD:
Out 23rd November:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
By 1990, Glaswegian naval-gazers The Wake had jumped ship from the ailing Factory Records and opted to join similar groups on Bristol's Sarah Records. A smaller budget but no less intriguing, Make It Loud followed the band's superb Crush The Flowers single (both sides included here) and heralded a brief relationship with the West Country imprint.
Held in less reverence than their previous and very wonderful full-length outing Here Comes Everybody, Make It Loud is nonetheless a good album. Opener English Rain sports more than a little in the way of pulsating New Order-esque synths and is perhaps Caesar and co's most danceable track since Talk About The Past, while the likes of Glider and American Grotto boast cute synth hooks and barbed lyrics that have become something of a Wake staple. A sideways swipe at a certain previous label boss follows - Joke Shop references Dudsbury (Didsbury was Factory's home address), glorified thugs, car-phones - well, you get the picture.
Thankfully the sharp tongues are swapped for more ethereal songs towards the end of this short album - Henry's Work is on a par with the likes of Sail Through or Gruesome Castle, while Cheer Up Ferdinand boasts vocals from Steven's keyboard-wielding sister Carolyn Allen and the same chattering synths as English Rain. Crush the Flowers and its chiming insistent b-side Carbrain complete the picture, the latter possibly inspired by the name of a Cumbernauld housing scheme.
Follow-up Tidal Wave of Hype is also released on 23rd November and has been reviewed here
Make It Loud:
LTM Records:
CD:
Out 23rd November:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Held in less reverence than their previous and very wonderful full-length outing Here Comes Everybody, Make It Loud is nonetheless a good album. Opener English Rain sports more than a little in the way of pulsating New Order-esque synths and is perhaps Caesar and co's most danceable track since Talk About The Past, while the likes of Glider and American Grotto boast cute synth hooks and barbed lyrics that have become something of a Wake staple. A sideways swipe at a certain previous label boss follows - Joke Shop references Dudsbury (Didsbury was Factory's home address), glorified thugs, car-phones - well, you get the picture.
Thankfully the sharp tongues are swapped for more ethereal songs towards the end of this short album - Henry's Work is on a par with the likes of Sail Through or Gruesome Castle, while Cheer Up Ferdinand boasts vocals from Steven's keyboard-wielding sister Carolyn Allen and the same chattering synths as English Rain. Crush the Flowers and its chiming insistent b-side Carbrain complete the picture, the latter possibly inspired by the name of a Cumbernauld housing scheme.
Follow-up Tidal Wave of Hype is also released on 23rd November and has been reviewed here