Mortal

Item: Wake
Author: Thom Fabian

Wake

(1994)

Reviewed by Thom Fabian

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Label Intense RecordsThe LighthouseDecember 1994

alternative rock grunge industrial industrial rock

This is Mortal's third full-length album. In 1992 they put out Lusis, and in 1993 they came out with Fathom, which to this day is one of my favorite albums. Also in 1993, they were featured in Volume 5 of the Intense Live Series, which contained their "live" sound. One of the main things that all of their albums have in common is that they have grown on me. That is, I wasn't really too impressed with them on the first listen, but the music really took time to sink in.

Wake follows this trend pretty closely. When I first heard it, it knocked me down at how different it sounded. Gone are the general techno sounds of the songs. Gone is the overriding plunking of a drum machine. What I heard was pure rock and roll. It took me by surprise and that's why at first I was somewhat disappointed. However, upon further inspection it didn't sound like any pure rock albums I'd ever heard. It was bigger, it was more real, it was Mortal's twist.

Those of you who enjoyed the industrial sound of Mortal's first two releases should still be pleased with this album. The guitars are as gutsy as ever, and Jyro still sings with his unique sound.

The project opens with "Paradigm One" a solid rock song. The next track, named after the date on which Jyro met his current girlfriend, starts off as a love song to his girlfriend, but ends up a love song to God, as Jyro sings "Your pure love enduring is always with me, Never leaves me, Never gives me up." The next track, "Mother's Day," is another love song, this time to his mother. Both of these songs are wonderful, both musically and lyrically.

The next track is entitled "Vial," and is an entertaining track. It serves as a sort of intermission, ushering in a new stage of the album. Six of the following eight tracks are straight-forward rock with the usually deep and thoughtful lyrics. Stuck between two of those hard rock songs is "Speed of Sound." This is one of the most beautiful ballads I have ever heard. The lyrics are absolutely wonderful, and are, as usual, extremely deep. This is not necessarily an evangelical song, it is more a song that ministers to the believer in His relationship with God.

The tenth track, "Fall," is the shortest and is truly haunting. It consists of one acoustic guitar accompanying Jyro singing a short little message. The message is a familiar one to Mortal fans as Jyro is singing of staying "Alive & Awake." The biggest surprise comes in track thirteen, which is an absolutely wonderfully done cover of the McCartney/Lennon song "Nowhere Man." The last song is "To My Darling Whippoorwill." Musically it is an odd song in which the only words I can discern are "Alive & Awake." The liner notes list a lot more words, and they may be in there, but if they are, I can't hear them. Still, reading the liner notes gives me the impression that the song is a farewell address.

Overall this CD is a bit brighter than Mortal's previous releases. Even the cover picture, a foreign idol, is brighter than the darkened images on the past releases. The words on the album are pointed and deep-they are reflective-something to ponder. All in all, Mortal has material, but still bears their unmistakable mark.