Released on Stow College’s student-run record label Electric Honey, ‘You Can’t Change That Boy’ is an immensely accomplished debut. Those Stow kids have taste, having previously put out albums by Belle and Sebastian, Snow Patrol and Biffy Clyro. Wake the President are certainly worthy of such company.

The band are very much a product of Glasgow, and reflect both the city’s character and musical heritage. ‘Wake’, for example, references the River Kelvin, and the influence of Postcard Records bands like Orange Juice and Aztec Camera is there for all to hear.

However, it would be wrong to dismiss Wake The President as just a parochial indie band in thrall to their heroes. There’s something vital, something necessary about their music, as they evoke the spirit of the city in a way few others have
managed.

Lyrically there’s a lot to appreciate, as singer Erik Sandberg displays a biting wit and a knack for a wry turn of phrase. On ‘You Can’t Change That Boy’ the melodies bristle with effervescence as Sandberg sings “Evening is a time for mirth and gaiety”. The irresistible pop hooks of ‘Remember Fun’ bob along brilliantly as well, describing a girl with a “Lovely Body” and a “Promiscuous Mind” as the guitars jangle.

Perhaps there’s something slightly twee about songs like ‘Remember Fun?’, but in truth most of the album has a darker undercurrent reminiscent of Arab Strap. These are tails of deceit, infidelity, and dark passions wrapped-up in infections melodies.

‘You Can’t Change That Boy’ is a rich, rewarding and beautifully-realised album. Glasgow may be Wake The President’s spiritual home, but their sound is sure to win hearts much further afield. [Gavin Porter]

The Skinny 4*

There’s a familiarity to Wake the President’s debut album, partly due to its  relative belatedness - some songs have been in record collections and the band’s repertoire for years - and partly due to their much-remarked upon resemblance to their musical heroes. There’s no ignoring the echoes of Felt, Orange Juice and other favourits of the National Pop League - Glasgow’s sadly departed club night for those who prefer dancing to Camera Obscura in modest surroundings to braving the lairy gauntlet of Sauchiehall Street, and in whose memory the album is dedicated. But such comparisons shouldn’t be misconstrued as veiled critique - the band wear their influences lightly and with pride, as opposed to slavishly aping the tried-and-tested and hoping that similitude alone will suffice. And then there’s the record’s personable, informal brand of familiarity - the breezy intimacy by  which the album is elevated into the indie-pop pantheon it aspires to.
[Chris Buckle]

NME 7/10

Music OMH 3.5*
Wake The President's You Can't Change That Boy is brought to us by Electric Honey, the independent label that has already helped launch the careers of Belle And Sebastian, Snow Patrol and Biffy Clyro.

Great things are expected of Wake The President, and the band's mainstays Bjorn and Erik Sandberg certainly have a musical background to equip them for the long run. The Glasgow-born identical twins are brothers of the techno DJ Funk D'Void and another brother is a professional jazz musician. To top it all, they have been running their own Say Dirty Records label for several years.

For their own band the Sandbergs mine a rich seam of Postcard Records-inspired jangle pop, a formula they stick to pretty rigidly during the course of this debut album. Where Glasgow's favourite sons Franz Ferdinand have always had one eye on the dance floor, Wake The President are firmly rooted in the sixth form college room. The rhythm section of Mark and Scott is competent but fairly routine.

There is enough melodic wit and clever wordplay on You Can't Change That Boy (great album cover by the way) to delight fans of Stuart Murdoch and Emma Pollock. Something To Turn Up is a sweeping opener that segues neatly into the jostling Professor. Erik Sandberg's heavy Scots brogue is hard to keep up with at times, but lyrical gems such as 'It would be a piece of vain flattery/To suggest that we were entirely content together' make their presence known.

Mail, Alice starts with a thumping drum beat that sounds like Chelsea Dagger, but you could barely imagine The Fratellis opening a song with the line 'Cognitive therapy is what you need'. Upcoming single Miss Tierney glides by on a cavernous bass line and jangly guitar hook straight out of the Orange Juice songbook.

There is a certain charm to the way the Sandbergs court their musical heroes that prevents the album descending into simple mimicry. Whether it is the acoustic ruminations of Wake or the staccato indie pop of the title track, there is an intimacy to proceedings that makes the band's songs easy to love.

Granted, several of these songs have been doing the rounds for a couple of years now, including the aforementioned Mail, Alice and You Can't Change That Boy. Remember Fun? is another and its simple pop charms have already gained the band some valuable mainstream airplay.

What is pleasing is the way the newer tracks also cut the mustard. The Security Place is a verbose slice of real life that already looks set to be a live favourite, while the sexual frankness of Just Give Me Two Secs would make Aidan Moffat glow with pride. They even change tack right at the end of the album by going all atmospheric on the closing A&E.

The Scottish indie scene continues to roll out great music and Wake The President are sure to turn some heads this year. [Nic Oliver]

Scotsman 3*

Stow College's record label has a reputation that not so much precedes it as leaves a trail of distinguished dust in a blur of success.Belle & Sebastian, Snow Patrol and Biffy Clyro are past bands to feature, and Wake The President's debut does not sound out of place in that company.

'Professor' has the wordy qualities of early Orange Juice, while the opening line  Cognitive therapy is what you need" in 'Mail, Alice', would make Belle & Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch proud.

Already picking up national airplay on Radio 2, tunes such as the buoyant and infectious 'Remember Fun' could well be future housewives' favourites.

**These reviews are excellent! Well done WTP!**

Ashleigh