Alison Wonderland - Awake
A sharp, piercing beat awakes the audience from a slumber, at the very beginning of Awake, the cinematic sophomore dance album from Alison Wonderland. The album satisfies the electro pop craving, you didn’t know you had.
Opening track ‘Good Enough’ builds up to a near immaculate bass drop that lyrically questions, “is it good enough?” It’s a tongue-in-cheek rhetoric, that I can’t help but to answer: Yes, it is, Alison. The tension is built in ‘No’, a remarkably more bubble-gum pop track that showcases the versatility of Alison Wonderland’s production; reminiscent of ‘I Want U’ from her debut album. ‘Okay’ and ‘Easy’ follow and while ‘Okay’ features exciting production, ‘Easy’ is one of my favourite tracks on Awake. The lyrics perfectly encapsulate feelings of a break-up. She beautiful poses the question, “why don’t you find someone easy?” ‘High’ features Trippie Redd who brings fresh vocals that pair beautifully to the intense production. ‘Here 4 U’ follows with vocals from BLESSUS, paired with experimental drone-like production. ‘Church’ the second single released for Awake is easy to initially sleep on. However, the unique use of pauses within the chorus and bass drop, keep the song fresh and easy to repetitively listen to.
‘Cry’ takes a different approach to previous tracks, with a seemingly tropical beat that allows a relaxed flow, when it comes time for Californian rapper Buddy’s feature. ‘Happy Place’ was the lead single for Awake, so it’s likely that most listeners have heard it. The song soars and presents the best elements of Awake. The production and lyrical content makes it easy to visualise the energy that Alison Wonderland executes. ‘Good Girls Bad Boys’ and ‘Dreamy Dragon’ pad out the second half of the album; but the show is stolen by ‘Sometimes Love’ that features additional production by SLUMBERJACK. ‘Sometimes Love’ builds upon the restraint shown in the bridges of ‘Happy Place’ filling the three-and-a-half-minute track with nothing but amped up energy. Awake closes with a driven self-titled track that features some of most intimate vocals of an Alison Wonderland track so far.
Awake in entirety is a gorgeous and dynamic experience and one of my favourites albums this year so far.
