![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernjournal\/files\/2018\/05\/SHAKEGRAVE-1024x1014.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Zo<\/span>\u00eb<\/span> Strickland | Editor-in-Chief<\/span><\/p>\n Alejandro Rose-Garcia, also known as Shakey Graves, announced his fifth album with a warning: that fans should prepare to sell their suspenders. While Graves set out to release \u201cCan\u2019t Wake Up\u201d as a departure from his previous albums, the record houses the same down-home feel that can be found in his earlier work,<\/span> with a touch more gloom and a little less fingerpicking.<\/span><\/p>\n I was introduced to Graves\u2019s music through an episode of NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk Concerts. The concert emphasized the sort of music that the artist is famous for \u2014 a combination of folk and blues, with a touch of rock n\u2019 roll rolled in \u2014 the same kind of music that he\u2019s trying to take a departure from in \u201cCan\u2019t Wake Up.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n In \u201cCan\u2019t Wake Up,\u201d Graves has set up a world of mystery, reminiscence and surreal situations. His lyrics are self-analyzing, dark and dreamy, while the music itself is somewhat psychedelic and layered <\/span>\u2014 <\/span>these things work together to create an audio representation of the world depicted on the cover of the record. <\/span><\/p>\n Though the album\u2019s core still houses the warm vocals and strands of guitar-heavy backing that punctuates his previous four albums, Graves has shifted his sound to being more pop- and rock-heavy. Rather than embracing a low-budget, found-on-the-street sound, \u201cCan\u2019t Wake Up\u201d is noticeably different when it comes to production. Each track has a larger and more robust presence.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCounting Sheep\u201d is possibly the catchiest song on the record. It was one of the first singles released and provides a dose of shock regarding what the album will be like. The track marries the sound that Graves is pushing away from with the one he\u2019s embracing. Rather than focusing on a solo voice, the song employs the use of Graves\u2019s own different pitch backing vocals to fully immerse listeners in the hazy world that\u2019s being created. I challenge you not to sing it at the top of your lungs. <\/span><\/p>\n The album then shifts into the ultimate summer dance anthem; \u201cKids These Days\u201d is an indie-sounding bop that spends time reminiscing about the feeling of indestructible youth. <\/span><\/p>\n Though many of the tracks are powerhouse anthems, \u201cClimb on the Cross,\u201d \u201cNeighbor\u201d and \u201cMansion Door\u201d show a slower side of the album; while the starting tracks are bellowing, the slower songs work to combat some of the more high-energy pieces and bring both the album and the listener back into the the dreamscape. <\/span><\/p>\n Though Graves billed \u201cCan\u2019t Wake Up\u201d as a great departure from his earlier music, the album still feels like Shakey Graves <\/span>\u2014<\/span> it still feels like the warm country-folk songs that he\u2019s been playing since his first album. Simply put, \u201cCan\u2019t Wake Up\u201d is a great album. Though die-hard fans of Graves\u2019s older work may be discouraged, this album is worth the listen. It embraces a lot of what\u2019s currently being done in popular music, but the record retains a sense of originality. <\/span><\/p>\n Contact the author at journaleditor@wou.edu<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Photo by:\u00a0shakeygraves.bandcamp.com<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Zo\u00eb Strickland | Editor-in-Chief Alejandro Rose-Garcia, also known as Shakey Graves, announced his fifth album with a warning: that fans should prepare to sell their suspenders. While Graves set out to release \u201cCan\u2019t Wake Up\u201d as a departure from his previous albums, the record houses the same down-home feel that can be found in his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1030,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1030"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7731\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}