Almost Awake are an incredibly impressive new band – their sound is so well polished and musically on point that it feels as if they must have been playing together for a hell of a long time. Cloudwalker is a great introduction to their approach to creativity; an emotionally driven, multi-layered punk-pop track that brings with it a welcomed touch of nostalgia, as well as something decidedly fresh for music fans to embrace.
From a songwriting perspective, the lyrics arrive with genuine depth here, and the accompanying video works hard to feed further into that aura. The performances throughout do well in underlining the passion inherent in the song’s sentiment, particularly the leading voice – this is the touch of instant humanity that most listeners are initially drawn in by. In this case, it’s a naturally beautiful voice, powerful in a relevant way but not trying too hard and not resulting in something overly shouty or unhinged. It all just feels very real, which is rare in punk-pop or pop-rock these days.
Musically, the song’s set-up allows it to hit hard. The introduction is stunning, a simple guitar riff – well played, impressive early on, but simple and memorable regardless – and a thick drum-line loaded with anticipation. As the song progresses, everything seems perfectly in keeping with the gradual evolution. The verses lay out a delicate ambiance, within which the verses can really thrive. Then as the build-up to the hook starts to take shape, the intensity rises brilliantly, and those bigger moments surround you with almighty escapism. As stated, the vocal performance seems gorgeously natural, making this feel like an authentic and simultaneously exciting release that will hopefully pave the way for a lot more songs in the near future – not to mention numerous live shows.
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