The Wake - Make It Loud The Wake

The first LP on Sarah Records by The Wake was an immaculate affair, taking the ideas, sounds and textures of their Factory Records days and polishing them to a new vibrancy and brightness while adding extra layers of dark, sardonic humour and, on songs like Holy Head and Firestone Tyres, a dynamic, driving rhythm from which soared fantastic choruses. And while American Grotto and Henry’s Work build on the weightless melodicism of the band’s Factory releases, the extraordinary English Rain deploys a relentless, staccato, percussive beat overlaid with haunting imagery to devastating effect: “lofty branches... from humble roots... mugs of tea for the referee... sellotape and photographs and English rain...”