There comes a point in every burgeoning artist’s career—you can call call it the put up or shut up portion of their developmental trajectory—when it becomes necessary to make good on the promises offered up by their initial recordings. It’s a time for measuring up, for separating the proverbial chaff from the wheat in order to elevate lasting power over the ephemeral glow of lightning in a bottle. Most artists never reach that critical juncture, but for experimental hip-hop trio WAKE, that moment has arrived with today’s unveiling of their first full length, Strangers In a Strange Land.
Musically, the group has long occupied the same headspace as local favorites the Difference Machine—strong psychedelic overtones, socially conscious lyrics, adventurous production—albeit with more overt political underpinnings. On Strangers, all those elements are blown-out to the nth degree. Listening to this record, it’s clearly a work that’s been built up, torn apart, reassembled, and obsessed upon many times over. But while the expansiveness of these songs, the amount of thought and level of detail that went into producing them, is certainly impressive, it’s the high degree of consistently intelligent and infectious dopeness that makes this record a must listen. Just about every track on here is a genuine head-nodder with rappers Obeah and Keith William spitting fire and dropping knowledge at a prodigious rate.
From a sonic standpoint, you can credit much of the success of the album to bandleader Williams who handled the bulk of the production, and to a large extent his studio partner DJ/producer HaspPrecise who contributed the majority of noises and textures that make Strangers such an enveloping listen. But the secret weapon here might be Cloudeater’s Nolan Kramer who was brought in to help flesh out a lot of Williams’ ideas and helped co-produce the record. Although I would hesitate to describe anything Wake does as glossy or smooth, everything here sounds crisper, fuller, and more atmospheric than the noisy and sometimes cluttered sounds that defined their earlier singles and debut EP, Seeds.
But while Strangers is a far more polished record, it’s no less an incisive or inventive one. The dark, noxious aura of fear, paranoia, and righteous outrage that has marked the group’s music from the beginning remains decidedly intact. Inspired by Robert A. Heinlein’s seminal sci-fi novel, Stranger in a Strange Land, the LP traces a black and ominous path through themes of alienation, anxiety and insecurity. In tackling such heady issues, the album often spills over into piercing examinations of current events—“There’s no justification for brutal murder in the name of peace / They turn the cameras off when people take the streets,” Obeah spits on the timely “Sweet Death”—but, as much as the group maintains an eye towards protest and social justice, at its heart Strangers is an introspective record about seeking balance and spiritual well-being in a society gone mad with materialism and hate. It’s a bleak, sometimes brilliant, album that feels decidedly vital and necessary. That idea of delivering on promises I brought up earlier? You can consider them kept and then some.
WAKE will celebrate the release of Strangers In a Strange Land tonight at 529. Supporting them will be the Kill Fist, DT (of the Difference Machine) and Louie Larceny. Doors open at 9 p.m. Donations accepted at the door.
More Info
Web: wakeatl.com
Bandcamp: wakeatl.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @wakeatl
Instagram: @wakeatl
SoundCloud: @wakeatl
Twitter: @wakeatl
Tumblr: wakeatl.tumblr.com