The Wake

Spanning the heyday of post-punk and indie pop (and beyond), the Wake paired moody, melancholy songcraft with hooky tunes sung in warmly desultory style by the group's leader, Caesar. Early records like 1982's Harmony followed closely in the footsteps of New Order, then the band blossomed into their own almost cheerfully melodic variant of the sound on 1985's Here Comes Everybody. They later moved from Factory to Sarah and grew even poppier, while at the same time becoming bolder lyrically. Their career hit a bump when the label folded, but they've regrouped for the occasional album (like 2012's A Light Far Out) and live show. In 2022, the band resurfaced with a freshly recorded song for an album featuring Sarah Records alumni.