Biography
Twin brothers Bjorn and Eric Sandberg teamed up with bassist Mark and drummer Scott to launch Wake the President in 2005 during the twins’ time as Glasgow University students. Their sound drew from assorted shambly indie pop outfits of the 1980s and 1990s, among them the Go-Betweens, Arab Strap, and Orange Juice, and the resulting demos drew parallels to the Shout Out Louds, Je Suis Animal, and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Douglas MacIntyre and Ken McCluskey’s Electric Honey Records eventually signed the band; the imprint, operated by music-industry management students at Glasgow’s Stow College, had first drawn notice in 1996 by issuing Belle & Sebastian’s Tigermilk. The label released Wake the President’s debut single, “Sorrows for Clothes,” in 2007, while a second single, “Remember Fun,” appeared shortly afterward on Norman Records. In 2008 BBC Radio 2 presenters Stuart Maconie and Mark Radcliffe discovered the tracks, placed both in rotation, and awarded each the single-of-the-week honor. The following year the band’s first album, You Can’t Change That Boy, surfaced in the U.K. via Electric Honey and in the States via Magic Marker Records. A second LP, Zumutung!, arrived on We Can Still Picnic in 2011.