Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! (Normal Edition)(Japan Version)

It might be because it was a long day, but I laughed out loud with the first two lines of Wake up! dodo (Track 1): "Where did you go, flightless bird?/Strolling above above the clouds". A dodo in heaven? A mellow rock track with catchy beats and whimsically meaningful lyrics, the song certainly brought a smile to my face, a smile that pretty much stayed for the length of the album. From the fast, bouncy, and thoroughly trivial YOUNGSTER (Track 2) to the strangely gloomy, silly-serious Serious Plan (Track 7) to the irreverently boogie woogie Skinny Blues (Track 8), there is an irresistible charm and fun energy to the band's offerings.

Scarecrow (Track 4), which was released earlier as a single, is perhaps the most straightforward track on the album, a low-key mid-tempo rock ballad with contemplative lyrics. As a standalone single, I would find the song a bit disappointing - not distinctive enough - but as part of the album, it fits in quite nicely and even stands out by playing it J-rock straight and subtly dramatic. Another particularly mellow offering is BOAT HOUSE (Track 5), which gives life to what should be a run-of-the-mill melody by creating a pleasant atmosphere with catchy beats and comfortable vocals. Of course, if we're talking about pleasant songs it's hard to ignore the aptly named Pleasure Song (Track 6), which hooks with a long guitar intro, bouncy beats, and a relaxed melody.

Moving slightly away from the album's laidback mood is Century Creepers (Voice of the Proteus) (Track 10), the hardest track on the album, with the loud frantic intro, repeating guitar chords, and distorted vocals on the chorus offering something slightly different than the other tracks. What stands out the most to me though are the lyrics, which are both lonely and liberating. The album ends on a wistful note with the simple yet pensive Sweet Baggy Days (Track 11), which returns to the theme of hazy dazy nostalgia.

Clean, fresh, and crowd-pleasing, Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! makes for an easy and happy listen with its universally likable pop rock sound. Though the album title is asking us to wake up, in truth it seems a lot more appealing to hit the pillows.