Wake Up! (Hazel English album)

Wake Up! (stylized as Wake UP!) is the debut studio album by Australian-American indie pop musician Hazel English released on April 24, 2020. The album is produced by Justin Raisen and Ben H. Allen.

Wake Up!
Studio album by
Hazel English
ReleasedApril 24, 2020
Recorded2018–2019
Genre
Dream pop[1][2]
LabelPolyvinyl Records
Producer
  • Justin Raisen
  • Ben H. Allen
Hazel English chronology
Just Give In/Never Going Home
(2017)		 Wake Up!
(2020)
Singles from Wake Up!
  1. "Shaking"
    Released: November 6, 2019
  2. "Off My Mind"
    Released: January 29, 2020
  3. "Combat"
    Released: March 4, 2020
  4. "Five and Dime"
    Released: April 7, 2020

Background and recording

On May 12, 2017, English released her first EP Just Give In/Never Going Home. In 2018, she started working on her debut album.

In an interview on BBC Radio 1's Indie Show with Jack Saunders, English said that the album idea came from her passiveness in everyday life and the need of changing it, of doing the things that she wanted to do and move on with life. The album title is a literal reference from waking up from sleep and a mindfulness feeling to life.[3]

Produced with the help of Justin Raisen and Ben H. Allen, according to Polyvinyl Records the album is a "bigger, lusher, and more live-sounding" album from her discography.[4]

Singles

On November 6, 2019, the first single from the album was released. "Shaking" was described by Stereogum as "'60s psychedelia".[5] The song was co-written with Blake Stranathan and produced by Justin Raisen. The music video for the single was directed by Erin S. Murray.

On January 29, 2020, she released the second single "Off My Mind". According to English, the song is "about feeling stuck in a situation but too afraid to make a move. It's about the limbo state between where you are and where you want to be."[6]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.8/10[7]
Metacritic73/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Clash8/10[10]
Exclaim!9/10[11]
The Independent[12]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[1]
musicOMH[13]
Paste Magazine6.9/10[2]
Under the Radar[14]

Wake Up! received generally positive reviews from music critics. On the review aggregate website Metacritic, Wake Up! received a score of 73, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[8] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.8 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[7]

AllMusic critic Marcy Donelson called the album "a more vibrant, polished affair than her [English's] EPs" and stated that it is an "album that aims to please and largely succeeds."[9] Writing for Clash, Rae Niwa wrote that English, on the album, "pivots for a musical array of expanded soundscapes that articulate a dynamic evolution of her music". She further praised the album for its "elevated energy" and English's way of expanding her "work", thus comparing it to previous releases from the artist. Niwa ended her review by stating that "Hazel English has delved into a sophistication that dynamically blends her previous music to create an oscillation of hard and soft that exudes in her tonality."[10] Alisha Mughal of Exclaim! acclaimed the album, stating that each track on the record "is unique and will sweetly burrow itself into your mind, and this is due to English's deftness with hooks and melodies." Mughal also praised English's vocals and stated that the album is the "perfect soundtrack to the next few months that may feel like an eternity under COVID-19."[11] Hayley Milross, reviewer for The Line of Best Fit, wrote that "whilst English's smooth tone and poetic songwriting paints a dreamy soundscape, what English delivers here primarily, is concise honesty. Rather than washing over fantasised ideals, she tells us exactly how it is, how it makes her feel and what she wants to do in order to gain her power back."[1]

Elisa Bray of The Independent wrote that "Wake Up! may tackle weighty themes of capitalism and power struggles in relationships, but the woozy ambience of its shoegaze and Sixties-inspired pop is not exactly going to propel you into an invigorating new way of life [...] This graceful debut is led by a voice so sweetly soothing and expressive that it recalls both Lana del Rey and Hope Sandoval."[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Hazel English

Wake Up! track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Born Like"3:46
2."Shaking"3:33
3."Wake Up!"3:35
4."Off My Mind"3:38
5."Combat"3:48
6."Five and Dime"2:53
7."Like a Drug"4:04
8."Waiting"3:33
9."Milk and Honey"3:12
10."Work It Out"4:33
Total length:36:35

Personnel

Production

Engineering

  • Anthony Paul Lopez - Recording and mixing engineer
  • Ben Etter - Recording and mixing engineer
  • Heba Kadry - Mastering engineer
  • Ainjel Emme - Additional engineering

See also

References
  1. Milross, Hayley (22 April 2020). "Hazel English's debut is the ultimate dreamscape rooted in reality". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  2. Danton, Eric (22 April 2020). "Hazel English Goes for Big and Bright on Wake UP!". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  3. "Radio 1's Indie Show with Jack Saunders - Battle of the Fans! - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  4. "Wake UP!, by Hazel English". Polyvinyl Records. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  5. "Hazel English - "Shaking" Video". Stereogum. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  6. "Hazel English announces debut record with dreamy lead track "Off My Mind"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  7. "Hazel English Wake Up!". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  8. "Wake Up! by Hazel English". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  9. Donelson, Marcy (23 April 2020). "Wake Up! - Hazel English". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  10. Niwa, Rae (20 April 2020). "Hazel English - Wake Up!". Clash. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  11. Mughal, Alisha (22 April 2020). "Hazel English Gives Us the Pep Talk We Didn't Know We Needed on 'Wake UP!'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  12. Bray, Elisa (23 April 2020). "Hazel English review, 'Wake Up!': Singer-songwriter's debut album tackles weighty themes with ethereally soft vocals". The Independent. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  13. Murphy, John (30 April 2020). "Hazel English – Wake UP!". musicOMH. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  14. Raven, Matt (6 May 2020). "Hazel English Wake Up!". Under the Radar. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
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