Harmony + Singles

Album review

The Wake formed when guitarist/vocalist Caesar left Altered Images in 1981. When he split he took a huge chunk of their early gloomy, post-punk sound with him. Teaming with synth player Carolyn Allen, bassist Bobby Gillespie, and drummer Stephen Allen, he conjured up a low budget, scrappy take on the gloomy, post-punk sound favored by New Order at the time. Unlike the many other bands who did the same, the Wake added their own tense, melodramatic spin to it. Caesar's vocals and words have a warmth that balances the shards of guitars, murky keyboard drone, pummeling drums, and Peter Hook-y bass. Harmony is a strong debut that shows the band not yet fully realized, but close enough to escape any charges of mere copycatting. Would they exist without the path New Order, and Joy Division before them, blazed? Probably not, but that doesn't mean that they didn't make music worth hearing. Certainly any sad, lonely soul will find much solace in the gloom and mist here. Songs like "An Immaculate Conception'' or "Heartburn" hover like a mist of tears, the latter coming close to the lofty territory Felt inhabited. Other more uptempo songs seek to cut through the fog with serrated guitar strings and tom-toms that are clubbed to the breaking point. "Testament" pulses like an open wound that was likely caused by Caesar slashing at this guitar, "Patrol" darkly grinds over insistent drum patterns, and "Judas" comes close to being danceable, though it's a little too depressing to inspire much movement except for maybe pulling a blanket over your head. The song that best blends the moodiness and forward motion is "Favour." With some luck it could have been a hit with its pleasing guitar jangle, sneaky hook, and propulsive drumming. The album definitely captures a very specific mood and does it in exciting ways that are never (too) derivative. The Wake may have been working with an established template, but Caesar's vision, the emotional impact of his songs, and the fantastic amounts of energy the band put in, all combine to make it a sterling example of a sound instead of a group of imitators.

© Tim Sendra /TiVo