Brooklyn music has this "cool because it's not cool" vide to it. Everyone says they hate it, and everyone actually adores it. Well, Wakey!Wakey! doesn't totally fit into that mold, yet exemplifies it.
Today we're going to take a look at The War Sweater EP because it's the music that first got me, and I think it'll get you too.
We start things off a tad ominously with the title track, "War Sweater." The piano's as gorgeous as ever, and the strings are bringing in this downright creepy sound. If we're in for an album of NYC themed songs… well, okay, I can get behind that. This city equally has my love and hate, and maybe Wakey!Wakey! can personify that in song form. I love that this is asking what you're going to leave behind in this world. It's a tough question, because as much as we all want to be loved, I believe we all equally want to be remembered. That can be just as, if not, harder.
"LGA" is interesting. The tone's a little more epic, bringing in a large sounding band behind a dominant piano. The words are a little hard to wrap your head around on a first listen honestly. There's a complication there that you can't completely work out the meaning of in your head right away. While frustration, I have to give kudos to the music itself. The instrumentation is phenomenal here, and that it just fact.
And now on to my love, "Brooklyn." God damn, this song has everything. It's heartbreaking and uplifting all at once (listen to that band hit hard 2/3 of the way through and tell me you're not moved - I DARE YOU). It's a song about escape from someone and making mistakes with them, and accepting that you're just going to try to be whatever it is that they want. You just want them to stay, somehow; to come back home, yet you want the best for their life. Maybe I'm rambling, but this is an emotional song if nothing else, calling for no less of a confused New York kid's response.
"Blame You" is more of a rock song than the last ones have been. The sound is more typical, yet between the strings and piano the band's sound retains its individuality. Again, lyrics are hard to grasp in a first go-around on this band, which makes listening all the more frustrating to me, personally. But I have issues like that.
Electronic piano? "Away" strips things back in a way, if that makes sense. Less elements are involved in the instrumentation and the sound is so different than all of the previous music just because it's not a grand piano sound we're hearing drive things anymore. Despite that canned sound, the song sounds just so sad on top of it all. This is not one for the lonely nights at home folks.
Added to My Playlist:
- "War Sweater"
- "Brooklyn"
I honestly can't tell you the last time I did a full album in one sitting. Yes, I know this was an EP, but to type it without hours of pauses in between is different these days. I got more of a subversive experience out of the album that way, and I highly recommend you doing the same. The way this music is so beautifully written, it deserves your full body's attention.