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Wise Up - Out to Dance (House Cat Records)

4 April 2024

What if pop music wasn’t built on the same old cliched beats and lowest common denominator grooves? What if grunge wasn’t just about being the loudest and shoutiest guy in big shorts and a plaid shirt on the block? What if indie music stopped showing off and learned the art of writing songs, I mean actual songs? What if lo-fi music rose above being just another poorly produced girl in the bedroom writing about her recent breakup on a battered acoustic guitar? What if all of these things came true? Well, on the strength of “Out To Dance”, the new one from Wise Up, I’d say they already have.

What I love about this track, one of the many things, is the band’s sonic choice to not go for the obvious. The music glides when others would opt to merely groove. They are melodic, whereas more macho bands would feel the need to be muscular. They swerve volume and velocity in favour of dreamy delicacies and shimmering sonics. They lull and lure rather than aim to be bombastic and full of bravado. Those are all sonic choices that are the hallmarks of a band that is comfortable in its skin.

I get the feeling that a band like Wise Up could only have happened in the post-genre world we now inhabit. In earlier, more tribal times, their heady mix of sounds and styles would have perplexed too many brains and hampered their necessary ascent. But in today’s more broad-minded musical environment, their ascent is assured. Surely?

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