Artist- Wakey!Wakey!
Album- “Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You…”
Record Label- Family Records
5 out of 5 Pitchforks

It seems that “Doppelganger Week,” on Facebook has come and gone — and what a week it was. Everyone indulging himself or herself while simultaneously lying through his or her teeth. “Sure, you look like Natalie Portman! That is, if she looked completely different and gained 50 pounds.”

I can’t say for certain if Michael Grubbs, the man behind Wakey!Wakey!, participated in what will certainly go down as the single dumbest week in history, but if he did, I hope he chose his lookalike to be the lead singer of Kings of Leon. You know the one — he was the guy who could really, really use somebody and he thought the sex he scored from that 20-something groupie was totally on fire — because the resemblance is uncanny.

Don’t let the likeness deter you though; Grubbs actually knows how to make some pretty legit jams.

As a band that does little to stray from the neatly-carved path of piano-pop, Grubbs and company ran the risk of being lost in the shuffle of average pop bands, but their debut album, “Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You…” is so infectious that not only do they stand out in the genre, but Wakey!Wakey! vaulted to the forefront of it.

Orchestral strings and a softly played piano open “Almost Everything” and as Grubbs transitions into the chorus with his captivating vocals, the chants of “It feels bad now but it’s gonna get better someday,” are so rife with emotion that it seems as though Grubbs is trying to convince himself, rather than pass the message along to the listener.

Packing emotion and tales of love and loss are a staple of Wakey!Wakey!’s formula but rather than being caught up in angst and melancholy, Grubbs knows when to pep up a song and when to temper the music and let his top-notch songwriting stand on its own.

Tracks like “Twenty-Two” and “Feral Love” are cool, laid back pop tracks while “Square Peg Round Hole,” is so bouncy and feel-good that you’ll be singing along the first time you hear it.

When Grubbs slows it all down, like on the heartfelt ballad “Dance So Good,” or the moving “1876- The Brooklyn Theatre Fire,” his voice shines above the music and resonates in a way that will leave listeners empathizing with Grubbs, all while aching for more.

Things start getting Jerry Springer real on “Got It All Wrong,” as Grubbs drops bombs like “I could have done much better for you, but you could have done much better for me too,” but when it seems like he is out the door, he’s crawling back on the piano-heavy “Light Outside,” confessing, “You saved my life once.”

“Car Crash” begins as a stripped-down piano and strings confessional with Grubbs playing a bit of a martyr while being backed by a soft female vocalist. But the track doesn’t gain full steam until the strings and piano are joined by a distant horn arrangement and Grubbs’ voice soars.

The final minute of the song is a sparkling moment and makes the tune one of the more memorable of the album.

The closing track, “Take It Like a Man,” is a bit frantic and sporadic throughout the verses but the booming chorus and hard-hitting lyrics are sure to leave an indelible mark on the listener.

The album twists and turns through Grubbs’ head as he wrestles with the familiar topics of love and loss.

That is a part of what makes Wakey!Wakey!’s debut so impressive.

Themes of loss, love and regret are the only musical tools used more than auto-tune, so when a band like Wakey!Wakey! can attack the ideas from an angle that is refreshing and genuinely good, it is a revelation.

“Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You…” is brutally honest at some points and brilliantly crafted at others.

In the end, it doesn’t matter who Grubbs looks like; all that matters is how he and his band sound, and Wakey!Wakey! sounds pretty good to me.

Reach the reporter at jdfourni@asu.edu.