By Michelle Strydom
Frost has toured all around South Africa, treating fans to a live listen of the album. The Wake Up’s sound is similar to that of Devils and Gods, suggesting that Frost is exposing more of his rock and roll side.
The opening track, Outside, starts off slowly and features a few slow guitar solos. The lyrics “wake up” refers to the crack of a new dawn, which also reflect on the beginning of a new album.
Tonight, the only track on the album that has its own official
music video so far, brings about a slower, calmer feeling for the listener after a rocking opening track. The second track talks about the need to “hide away” because things have become “too real”. Although
Outside is the official opening track,
Tonight gives a sense of what most of the album sounds like; a slow opening, a long guitar solo (that is, after all, what he’s famous for) and an overall, well-rounded reflection of both blues and rock.
Most songs on the album are vocals and instrumentals combined, except Sunrise. Sunrise (which at the end of the track introduces the next song, Morning Pages) is dedicated to instrumentals and allows the listener to appreciate Frost purely for his music making.
The second last track, Home No More, while giving off an electric sound to the album, looks at the idea of our home not being a home. Home No More could be considered the track that slightly differs from the rest of the album. The last track, Together, takes us back to the main genres. Together is about love and being together, a rather touching track and a great closing of an eclectic but well-balanced album.
As a whole, The Wake Up covers both blues and rock roll, keeping his Blues Broers fans happy while drawing in a new audience with louder rock songs. With this new album, Frost combines long, slow and mesmerising guitar solos with powerful choruses, bringing blues and rock and roll together in the most effective way.