The high quality of The Wake should be no surprise since Scott Kelly has been writing great music in the legendary NEUROSIS for a long time now. The Wake is one of those albums that takes you to another place and really envelops you. You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to the middle of a desert road, an abandoned town, or some other kind of sublime and melancholic place. The album is basically Scott Kelly and his acoustic guitar. There are lap steel guitars and bass guitar on several songs which serve as a good complement to Kelly and mixes things up. His damaged, delicate, and charismatic croon is the perfect voice for the storytelling that he has in store. The lyrics convey thoughts and feelings that are quite personal and complicated. But one thing is for certain, the 100% honesty behind them is one major reason why The Wake is such a success. The album is really one that needs to be listened to over a course of time to fully appreciate and absorb, otherwise it’s just a “nice little acoustic album.” It’s really great when you suddenly realize that your appreciation has gone up a few levels as time goes on. Dear Scott Kelly, please keep ‘em coming! (Neurot Recordings)