Look Alive People

iTunes Review

The aroma of sweat, road dirt and fried guitar cords hangs over the music of Wake Up Lucid. This classic garage-rock blend gives the trio’s debut EP Look Alive People a pungent aural bite. Cousins Ryan, Ian and Jamie Baca play with the bleary-eyed intensity of a late-‘60s biker-band combo, recalling both the blues-rock of the early Stones and the proto-punk of the Stooges. Look Alive People builds its tunes around Ian’s thick, snaky bass lines and Ryan’s snarling lead guitar work, hammered into place by Jamie’s aggressive, cymbal-heavy drumming. Tracks like “Other Side of the Road” and “Two Cents” slink with erotic menace, while “E Minor” rises from a moody simmer to a semi-psychedelic boil. Ryan delivers the band’s angst-drenched lyrics with a desperate yelp, suggestive of post-midnight excess and morning-after regrets. The acoustic musing of “Words” and the gnarly, free-floating desire of “Black Hair Woman” capture the extremes of the band’s songwriting. Recorded analog, Look Alive People has the visceral kick of a raw backroom jam.