“Bittersweet Horizon”’s bell-like melodies resonate like a morning alarm. This sophomore full-length by Awake! Awake!, released the first of July, echoes with crisp synthesizers and wiry guitars that cut like cold air, beginning with the instrumental “Colors” intro, which leads into “Distance.” Frontman David Johnson’s voice is introduced, which is lower pitched than the emo vocal trill expected. An ethereal sonic quality reminiscent of Paper Route is present throughout, even on more gravelly tracks like “Firing Squad.”
The band works hard to keep the lengthy album from dragging; there are fifteen tracks, one of which is a bonus and three are pretty acoustic versions. They pull it off by keeping the airy rhythms varied and invoking nostalgia at times. The grating guitars and smooth jangle of “True North” bring to mind guilty pleasure ’90s pop rock (Gin Blossoms, anyone?), and you can appreciate the honesty in the lyrics, even if instinct tells you to recoil from such blatant expression of love.
Check out the choppy licks of “Disarmed” or the ocean noise that sweeps in midway through “Harbor Lights” to get a taste of all the lights and darks of the album. Even in Awake! Awake! has some things to tighten, they’ve put forth a confident follow up to their debut, “We’ve Been Strangers.” Complemented by Johnson’s vocals, which sometimes bear the shaking intensity of Matthew Good (the ’90s just won’t die), the music sparkles and changes color from upbeat to intense. –Jessica Pace
