Wake in Fright (album)

Wake in Fright is the second studio album by the American industrial rock band Uniform. It was released on January 20, 2017 on Sacred Bones Records. The record was produced by the band's guitarist and programmer Ben Greenberg.[3] The lead single from the record, "Tabloid," was released in November 2016.[1] The second single, "The Killing of America," was accompanied by a music video by the time of the album's release.[4]

Wake in Fright
Studio album by
Uniform
ReleasedJanuary 20, 2017 (2017-01-20)
Genre
Length37:12
LabelSacred Bones
ProducerBen Greenberg
Uniform chronology
Ghosthouse EP
(2016)		 Wake in Fright
(2017)		 Mental Wounds Not Healing
(2018)
Singles from Wake in Fright
  1. "Tabloid"
    Released: November 30, 2016 (2016-11-30)[1]
  2. "The Killing of America"
    Released: January 5, 2017 (2017-01-05)[2]

The album takes its name from the 1971 film of the same name.[5]

Music and lyrics

Incorparating a heavier metal influence compared to its precursor,[5] Wake in Fright features a blend of "electronic noise, hardcore and industrial rock"[6] with elements from thrash metal[7][8] and EBM.[9] The record's sound was largely compared to Ministry's works,[7][9] particularly The Land of Rape and Honey.[8] According to Drowned in Sound's Benjamin Bland, the guitar sound on the record "rekindles the nihilistic psychedelia at the heart of industrial and marries it with unrelenting Converge-esque metallic hardcore," while the rhythm tracks were labeled as "Godflesh-gone-thrash drum programming."[8] Exclaim!'s Ian Gormely noted that vocalist Michael Berdan's "harrowing vocals" were "pushed to the back of the mix in favour of general noise and drums that run the gamut from industrial motorik to grindcore blast beats."[9] On the album, the band sought to incorporated more sample layering and sequencing, which they achieved through Pro Tools.[5][10] Movie samples, sound effects, foley tracks and different drum machine samples were used in layered;[5] explosion and gunshot sounds were also used on rhythm tracks as kicks and snares, respectively.[11]

Berdan wrote the lyrics in between fall of 2015 and the winter to early spring of 2016.[5] While the lyrics largely drew from Berdan's personal struggles, namely insomnia, anxiety and "an absence of hope for a positive future,"[5] many critics drew parallels between them and the socio-political climate in the United States amidst inauguration of Donald Trump at the time of the album's release.[7][8][9] Berdan sought to portray "human experiences that transcend politics" and stated that "none of these songs are meant to speak to anything more than a feeling that a character is experiencing," with the exception of "The Killing of America," a song about gun violence in the United States. The tracks such as "Habit" and "Bootlicker" deal with alcoholism, while "Tabloid" relates to a person's downward spiral with negative thoughts. Both "The Light at the End" tracks are about substance abuse while "Night of Fear" deals with Berdan's insomnia.[5]

Many titles from Wake in Fright were appropriated from media such as exploitation films and pulp novels, including The Light at the End, The Killing of America and The Lost.[5]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Drowned in Sound7/10[13]
Exclaim!8/10[9]
The Line of Best Fit7.5/10[8]
Pitchfork8.0/10[14]

Wake in Fright has received generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 80 based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12] AllMusic critic Paul Simpson has noted the political themes of the record, stating: "Terrifying and violent, Wake in Fright is a perfectly logical response to the state of the world."[7] Drowned in Sound's Benjamin Bland regarded Wake in Fright as "a more consistently provocative record than the duo’s debut," writing that the record's "selling point is that – no matter how well it binds together varied musical strands – it is that rare contemporary record that convincingly portrays real hostility."[13] Ian Gormely of Exclaim! remarked the influence of Ministry on the record, while concluding that "the pair never succumb to mimicry or idolatry."[9]

The Line of Best Fit critic Ian King has stated: "The album digs for transcendence by jackhammering away at the ills and addictions that afflict individuals and hold us back collectively."[8] Andy O'Connor of Pitchfork thought that both band members "have found new sides to themselves" with respect to their past work and wrote: "Their fevered, relentless sophomore record is the sound of clawing for survival and sanity."[14] The Quietus's Tom Howells stated: "As it stands, Wake In Fright is a misanthropic social/personal/political blank cheque as bleak in outlook as it is righteously harrowing in sound."[6]

Track listing

All tracks written by Michael Berdan and Ben Greenberg.

  1. "Tabloid" — 3:15
  2. "Habit" — 4:30
  3. "The Lost" — 4:49
  4. "The Light at the End (Cause)" — 4:36
  5. "The Killing of America" — 4:04
  6. "Bootlicker" — 5:03
  7. "Night of Fear" — 5:01
  8. "The Light at the End (Effect)" — 5:52

Personnel

Album personnel as adapted from the LP liner notes:[15]

  • Michael Berdan — vocals
  • Ben Greenberg — guitar, mixing, production
  • Josh Bonati — mastering
  • Adam Helms — cover art
  • Sacred Bones Records — layout

References
  1. DeVille, Chris (November 30, 2016). "Uniform – "Tabloid"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  2. Robinson, Collin (January 5, 2017). "Uniform – "Killing Of America"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  3. "Wake in Fright by Uniform". unifuckingform.bandcamp.com. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  4. Yoo, Noah (January 20, 2017). "Uniform Track U.S. Mass Shootings in Powerful New "The Killing of America" Video: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  5. Gardner, Noel (January 25, 2017). "Killing It In America: An Interview With Uniform". thequietus.com. The Quietus. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  6. Howells, Tom (February 10, 2017). "Review: Uniform - Wake in Fright". The Quietus. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  7. Simpson, Paul. "Uniform - Wake in Fright". AllMusic. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  8. King, Ian (January 16, 2017). "Uniform's Wake in Fright is draining music for the morning after". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  9. Gormely, Ian (January 23, 2017). "Uniform - Wake in Fright". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  10. "Crash Course: Meet Uniform, Ministry-esque Industrial Duo Formed In a Dream". revolvermag.com. Revolver. July 23, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  11. Cohan, Brad (February 8, 2017). "Brooklyn duo Uniform makes the accidental soundtrack of 2017". timeout.com. Time Out. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  12. "Wake in Fright by Uniform". Metacritic. June 25, 2020.
  13. Bland, Benjamin (February 6, 2017). "Uniform - Wake in Fright". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  14. O'Connor, Andy (January 16, 2017). "Uniform - Wake in Fright". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  15. Wake in Fright (LP liner notes). Uniform. Sacred Bones. 2017.CS1 maint: others (link)
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