The Wake
Harmony

LA RECENSIONE

With the discovery of "Movement" by New Order in 1981, inspiration was sparked for many people. In Glasgow, the stork dropped off four very interesting characters for music. This is one of the many bands that stayed in the shadows for at least twenty years and is only now perhaps getting its due justice. The Wake is a cult band that produced work for over ten years, reaching up to 1991 without having to be ashamed of anything.

After learning the tricks of the Joy Division/Tuxedomoon/Bauhaus craftsmanship, they debuted in 1982 with "Harmony". The purist prog/psychedelic/Kraut fringe, which rarely approaches the "new wave", saw the growth of a post-punk scene with billions of works. The Wake shows the gray/decadent side of music, consecrating at least three or four tracks to the school of a genre. This artistic trend will go on to produce masterpieces for over ten years, sowing seeds that will even influence dream pop/shoegaze.

"Judas" and "Favour" are the two cornerstones. The first is gothic and tight, the second oppressive and spaced out. Bass and sterile voice always in the foreground. The post-punk stylings are embodied in a sublime manner. The electronic drums, in perfect Stephen Morris sound, are raw and original. In short, not everything is perfect, and fortunately so.

"Patrol" is the zenith of the dark gothic philosophy of the eighties. Litanies of a dark minstrel mysteriously converse with the desolate synth inserts. The stern bass plunges us into a sulfurous atmosphere where everything seems to dissolve.

"Heartburn" and "An Immaculate Ocean" persist in the sonic nebula, especially with the depth of the latter, where snapshots of Human League, The Cars, Editors, Echo & The Bunnymen flow through us..

After this work, we have the dream pop shift of "Here Comes Everybody", where the dark moods are softened, and the melancholic/sugary tones are accentuated. Certainly, "Harmony" remains the most representative album of the band.