the pillows - Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

The newest album from the pillows, Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!, starts off with a bang, with the poppy Wake up! Dodo. There's no other way to describe this song other than "fun". With its repeated, catchy guitar riff, the song is reminiscent of something by the Beatles, and immediately sets the mood for the rest of the album.

YOUNGSTER and Propose carry on in the same happy, Beatles-esque style, grabbing the listener by the hand and skipping down the road, only stopping for the occasional group clap along. The good feelings in these first three tracks are truly infectious, and the listener will find it hard not to bop along. Bad moods beware!

The fourth track, Scarecrow takes a slower turn, grabbing the listener's attention with its melancholy feel rather than the poppy sound of its neighboring tracks. The vocals and guitar work well together to create a dramatic sound.

This slower pace continues for the next track, Boat House, which once again features some really interesting guitar work. While the tempo is slower, the song is by no means melancholy, and still retains an overall happy feeling.

The tempo swings up once again with the intro to The Pleasure Song. While the overall feeling is good, by the time this track rolls around, a certain sense of Déjà vu starts to set in. There is rather a feeling of having heard it before. Serious Plan brings back the seemingly same drum line as previous tracks, and a repetitive chanting of the title.

The album regains some of its momentum during Skinny Blues. This song has a sort of early 60's feel to it, with its stripped down sound and bouncy vocals. So strong is the 60's feel that one can easily picture a club full of mods and girls in white go-go boots dancing along.

The intro to Private Kingdom will surely have listeners whistling along. Like most of the album, this is an upbeat tune with, though noticeably familiar, great guitar.

Century Creepers (Voice of the Proteus)'s intro is original and totally different from any other track on the album. This fast paced, mosh-able tune comes complete with urgent vocals and leaves the listener vacillating between wanting to stage dive or just jump for joy at this pleasantly unexpected tune.

Sweet Baggy Days closes out the CD. As with Serious Plan, the lyrics to this song mostly consist of the title being repeated over and over... and over again. This tune once again establishes the guitar as the strongest player in the pillows. Even when the rest of a tune falls slightly short, you can count on the guitar line to be interesting. Monotony aside, the song is, in fact, sweet, and brings back a hint of the melancholy we felt earlier in the album with Scarecrow.

Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! is a happy, good time album. If one is looking for great guitar, and a consistent sound, then this is the album for you. Although their sound is steady, never straying too far from their well-recognized style, their fans will no doubt enjoy this latest offering, and even people new to the band are sure to find a song or two to bop along with.