I Lost You in a Lonely Crowd

“I lost you in a lonely crowd/You wanted to be free/You wanted to be somebody else/I’ll always disagree.” - The Wake, “Here Comes Everbody”

Given the sheer proliferation of Unknown Pleasures t-shirts in the world and the fact that there are hundreds upon hundreds of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” covers, I feel safe in saying that Joy Division has had a massive impact upon music. The dark lyricism belted in Ian Curtis’s nervy croon, the high-neck bass runs by Peter Hook, and the generally haunting nature of their sound can be felt to this day. Many bands were moved to create music by listening to this Manchester quartet. One such band is The Wake.

Founded by Caesar McInulty, Steve Allen, and Joe Donnelly, who was replaced by Bobby Gillespie (of Primal Scream and Jesus and Mary Chain fame). Their sound at the beginning hewed very closely to Joy Division and New Order. This did get them their deal at Factory Records, but critics rightfully noted that they had done little to differentiate themselves from their label mates. They solved this problem on their second album Here Comes Everybody.

On this recording, the group—consisting of Caesar, Steve Allen, Mac Macpherson, and Caroline Allen (Steve’s sister)—completely distanced themselves from this perception from the first note of the album. The first track on the album, “O Pamela,” begins with Caroline’s synth fill and Caesar playing a simple progression on his guitar. The drums swiftly follow, extending the buildup. The verse starts with the arrival of the true hero of this song: Mac’s rolling bass line. While it does recall the athletic nature of Peter Hook, the sound is deeper, feeling more like a bass line than a second guitar line.

Once this song starts, it immediately sinks its hooks into the listener. The song exists in the realm between a dream and the present, unsure of which it should exist in. If the guitar work sounds familiar to you for some reason, I will explain why a little bit later. (The answer isn’t because your favorite band loves The Wake. They might, but that’s not the actual answer.) This song drives perfectly, and sets the tone for the rest of the album, establishing a clear interplay between Caesar’s melancholic lyrics, Caroline’s dreamy synths, and the extremely sturdy rhythm section, which flares up when it needs to.

After the highs of “O Pamela,” the band slows down with “Send Them Away,” a song that has a strong Siouxsie & The Banshees/Cure goth feeling. The vibe is very witchy and haunting, but it doesn’t actively rip either of those bands off. It has its own very distinct perspective on post-punk, one that isn’t too referential of the bands immediately around them. The bass leads the song into a spooky synth progression. Caesar soon slides in with appropriate haunting lyrics about the protagonist being haunted by a love past. They follow up their goth effort with “Sail Through,” an almost-straightforward synth pop song. Caesar sounds like Neil Tennant as he croons over Caroline’s pretty synth work.

On the next track, “Melancholy Man,” Caesar, with a stunningly hypnotic guitar line as his anchor, tells this crushing story about an extremely sad outcast. It feels like it’s reaching towards Morrissey at his most dramatic (e.g., “The Headmaster Ritual”), but it never gets that far. The sincerity in Caesar’s voice keeps it from getting to those levels. Nevertheless, it still hits hard like Morrissey could when he really was focusing.

As the album continues along, The Wake continues to balance between their post-punk origins while also reaching for something dreamier and more emotionally raw on the tracks “World of Her Own” and “Torn Calendar.” You can hear them hit their apex on the penultimate and ultimate tracks on Here Comes Everybody: “All I Asked You to Do” and “Here Comes Everybody.” On “All,” Caesar duets with Caroline, and the result is both beautiful and haunting. The lyrics speak of a despondent boy who never got the attention of the girl he always wanted despite his best efforts. The music echoes this feeling of sadness and lost opportunity, regardless how much of the failure is his fault. The synths drift through the landscape as Caesar’s plucked guitar line echoes the pains within the protagonist of the song. It’s an achingly beautiful piece of moody post-punk-inspired indie pop.

With “Here Comes Everybody,” the listener sees a band playing with the dream-reality tension that has existed on this entire album. Mac’s bass and Steve’s drums create an unsettling space for both Caroline’s synths and Caesar’s guitar. Both of these latter instruments feel like invaders, puncturing the sad world of the protagonist. This push-pull as well as the tension in the competing singing of Caroline and Caesar makes this a fantastic cap to what would be the highlight of The Wake’s career, and a monumental record in its own right.

Remember earlier when I said that the guitar lines might feel familiar to you but you are unsure why? This is why: this album had a clear influence on the bands signed to Sarah Records. For example, if you listened to Coastal, which I shouted out in the previous Spins, or any of the bands from that label, you can hear all the elements of that sound on this album. There is the dreamy wistfulness, the jangling guitars, and the melancholic lyrics. If you’re familiar with your indie pop, you know that Sarah is one of the absolutely foundational labels of the genre. Every band can track some legacy back to this label whether through The Pastels, The Field Mice, Blueboy, or Heavenly. So, if you felt a twinge of unfocused recognition at times while listening to this album, that is why.

If you have enjoyed this album, there are some other albums worth exploring. If you want to go more on the dream side of the equation presented on this album, it’s always worth it to listen to the earlier Cocteau Twins albums and compilations like The Pink Opaque, which features tracks from early EPs as well as Head Over Heels and Garlands. In addition, you could listen to Red Rust September by Eyeless in Gaza, an album whose breezy exterior hides something darker.

If you want to chase the gothier sound at play here, The Cure’s Pornography and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Juju should suit your needs well. On the pop front, I stand by my previous recommendation of The Field Mice’s Coastal. In addition, look into The Monochrome Set’s Eligible Bachelors, another fine outing from one of Britain’s better indie pop outfits. Another album to listen to is Felt’s The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories. This is an exquisite album of beautiful guitar interplay that displays a slightly more melancholic perspective on the world. If would like to see hear what immediately followed Here Comes Everybody, listen to Talulah Gosh. There are Backwash, the K Records-released compilation, and Was It Just A Dream?, the expanded compilation. Both will let you here that Here Comes Everybody was a foundational part of the shift occurring in the post-punk scene that led to C86.

So, with C86, I’ll end this dispatch. I will leave you with two videos. The first is a live video of “Here Comes Everybody.” You’ll be surprised that it’s hard to find videos of cult bands.

The second video is of Cocteau Twins performing “Pink Orange Red” on The Tube in 1985. This is not a random video. It is foundational in the creation of the last band I’m going to talk about before I go on a short break: A.R. Kane.

With that, I’m out. Thanks for sticking around as I deal with the random events that occur in my life. While I don’t know when the next one will drop, but I can assure you that it will be before Thursday. Until then, take care.