For the past few years, new hybrids of genres have reared their eclectic heads; noise pop. chillwave, powerviolence, to name a few gems. Scenes were either reinvented or reborn, as nostalgia-happy mutilations have been coined to coherence with the contemporary musical environment. With all this brevity and short sightedness becoming so poignant, it’s bracing to hear a band that sticks to their guns; with shamelessly catchy hooks steeped in epic inclinations, WAKEY!WAKEY! have unabashedly taken pop as their touchstone, added classical elements, and held their head high.
The most striking aspect of this single is Michael Grubbs’s (singer) uncanny ability to use diction, nay, even the very syntax of his lyrics to emphasise their denotation. And although the lyrical content may be as dry as a Tesco value sandwich, it goes some way to parallel the grandiose instrumentation, which is so successful in evoking emotion. The only criticism of this composition is that the orchestral elements follow convention too closely; it would have been an invigorating feature to eschew normality, adding another dimension to the music rather than simply gorging itself in protocol.
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Despite the fact this has been done before, it’s the simple melodies and unambiguous string sections that give this single character. After all, it is the most effective and all-encompassing facets of music that remain prominent, even if certain facets can seem generic, it’s these genericisms that are what define truly catchy music, music that you find yourself humming along to. A band that will shake music into a new state of euphoria? Far from it, but it’s the self-consciousness that Wakey!Wakey! possesses that allows them to use conventionality to craft such appealing songs.
**Wakey Wakeys’ single, ‘Light Outside’, is released July 18th and the album, ‘Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You’, drops in September.
Wakey Wakey on MySpace
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