This was a song that popped up when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. This along with a few other special songs redefined my outlook on life and let me feel things in a way that I really needed at the time, so they hold a special place in my heart, but Wake Up arguably is the most important of them all.
The lyrical content wasn't too word-for-word what I was dealing with at the time, but EDEN's ability to inject so much emotion and authenticity into his music made it so that it didn't matter too much what he actually wrote it about. To me, Wake Up is a song about finally letting go of something you should've but didn't want to, and finding yourself. What strikes me more about this song is surprisingly not the lyrical content itself, but the instrumental that it's presented in. Something about the way EDEN masterfully uses electronics to his advantage, completely voiding it in places where the soundscape needs to be calm, and ramping it way up in places where you need to be feeling things. I remember hearing the second chorus for the first time, soaking in the electronics accompanied with three separate ongoing vocal tracks (which I found out way later on were interpolations of other tracks on the same EP, End Credits), and the euphoria was unreal. Another would be the electronic explosion nearing the outro. It's not anywhere where you can find controlled chaos like this, and only here where you can find it this high quality.
Of course, I love the lyrics. My favourite line is the double entendre (kinda) "who said you're one in a million?", which presents a different meaning the second time he says it with an additional "you're so much better than that" after. The flow of his second verse also happens to hit a sweet spot that I can't exactly place, but reeks of amazing musicianship. A song written with such focused intention is rare to find, but the whole song, start to finish, presents a story so well that it's hard to believe it's only less than 5 minutes.
I can't deny that partially why I love this song is sentiment. Then again, I'm sure it's a strong factor for anyone. But even without it, this track stands its ground with its use of electronics and generally wonderful writing.
Rating: 5/5