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Probably the most progressive thing the Catholic Church has done since 'tolerating' the gay community, Pope Francis has only gone and dropped the most questionable record of 2015, Wake Up! The Vatican announced back in September that Francis would be releasing a 'progressive-rock' album and we've been since eagerly anticipating this evangelical fire from Frankie.
As with most attempts from Catholic Church to corral attention, Wake Up! is likely destined to become another cry to the misguided youth that will fall on deaf ears. But it's still fun to imagine the atmosphere in the session room as Francis gestates to his backing band: "Guys, it sounds tight but needs more pop, you feel me? We're trying to fry some heathens here, let's go again, from the top".
What Wake Up! is, instead, is a collection of prayers, quotes, hymns and sermons from Pope Francis to the world between 2013-2015 accompanied by original compositions from Italian musicians. English fans might struggle with the multi-lingual aspect of the record but, as anyone with a Catholic upbringing will tell you, the thematics are a pretty straight-forward - that's another can of worms to open on another day.
Rolling Stone described the sound of lead single 'Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!' as 'reminiscent of Godspeed You! Black Emperor' which is totally off-base. We'd love the say that Pontifex packs the same cascading dynamics that shatter the cerebellum, however, the corny lead guitar and ceremonial trumpets are closer to the source of what this album really is: overhyped Christian Rock.
Listen to Pope Francis' 'Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!' below
Once the instrumentals fade out and Francis' dulcet tones wade in from the peripheries, the atmosphere of attentive silence is impressive to behold. However, it also feels like a Public Service Broadcasting track gone wrong, we're not sure who was in charge of the mix, but don't be surprised to hear about them being on the business end of a public stoning.
But it is unfair to write Pope Francis off completely. He's doing relatively good work considering the organisation he fronts. Francis is on a mission to climb into the pockets of the youth who have been, ironically, indoctrinated to hate the very ideals the man has dedicated his existence to. Making progressive steps toward climate change awareness, assistance for the homeless and immigration - the logical next step for Frankie was to get on the music scene. More than we can say for the previous Pontifex/Darth Sidious doppleganger, Pope Benedict.
As far as religious rock goes, Wake Up! will be have eyes and cynical blog pieces on it for the next few weeks, but only for what it represents, not the music itself. Catholicism has a membership of 1.25 billion people, none of which will be purchasing Wake Up! for it's pop-rock sensibilities. What Wake Up! is symbolic of is an honest attempt at diversifying the most antiquated and singular organisation in human history.
Wake Up! is set for a release on Friday (27 November). See the full list of album releases this week below:
Autopsy - Skull Grinder
Chris Brown - Royalty
Danzig - Skeletons
Deerhoof - Fever 121614
Dweezil Zappa - Via Zammata
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