If you’re looking at Make It Loud, it’s because you loved Here Comes Everybody and/or Something That No One Else Could Bring and wanted to know if later efforts by The Wake continue in their style and quality. You might see the poor reception and assume not, but you want to be sure.

Well, your assumption would be right. Make It Loud is much more guitar-centric than either of those two releases. Gone are the dreamy synth textures that wash over the pop tunes, and gone with it is the sound The Wake were good at. There are still synthesizers present, but they’re mostly in the background, bobbing and beeping along instead of enveloping you.

The vocals are more at the front of the music this time, but Gerard McNulty’s voice is too weak to really deserve it. Amateurish vocal performances are often an appeal of late ’80s/early ’90s indie pop, but knowing that The Wake’s vocalist is better suited to the background while covered in layers of synths and dissonant guitars makes this new style all the more disappointing. Female vocalist Carolyn Allen is put on backing vocal duties nearly the entire album, and even then, she’s barely ever heard. She does sing lead on “Cheer Up Ferdinand,” but it’s one of the worst songs on Make It Loud. A shame, as Allen is much more charming than McNulty.

Fans of the kind of indie pop you might find on the Rough Trade or Sarah labels may find Make It Loud a decent album, but one that lacks any standout moments. Fans of earlier material by The Wake will find this disappointing and unsatisfying. Not a bad little album; just a dime-a-dozen in this time period. I think the best song here is “Holy Head,” so give that shot, if you’re still questioning a full listen. Otherwise, I’d say skip this. If you somehow haven’t heard the two releases in the first sentence of this review, I highly recommend that you do.