Aimlessly in the Footsteps of the Greats
The Makesmakes competed unsuccessfully in the Eurovision Song Contest. Now the most pressing question is: Can the Austrians convince on their self-titled debut album?
It couldn't have got off to a better start: the Austrian trio The Makemakes set off a fireworks display with Sweet Home. The song sets a heady pace; this is rock‘n’roll as it should be—wild and dirty. It's impossible to escape this magic.
Mary is a veritable blues-rock piece that builds to a fascinating frenzy. Mary may not be as catchy as Sweet Home, but the song is all the more sophisticated for it.
The band then follows it up with a poppy You Are Not Alone. By the time this third piece—and thus the third change of style—has been played, you have to ask yourself whether the variety is part of the programme or whether The Makemakes simply don't know which direction to go in.
The real shock comes with Merry Goodbye, an organ-driven, sticky, lighter ballad. Those who survive this are rewarded with I Am Yours. They have mastered the art of the ballad—without any unnecessary schmaltz. And yet you can't help feeling that you've heard the song before.
That is the big problem with the Makemakes. They aimlessly follow in the footsteps of the greats of rock history. Nowhere is this more evident than with Big Bang, whose riff sounds confusingly similar to the last moments of Jumpin' Jack Flash or the guitar licks in All Down the Line by the ever-popular Rolling Stones.
The melody of Heartache also falls into the «already heard» category. At least the Makemakes get credit for the clever tempo change. They also give their instruments enough space to develop a life of their own. This is something that happens far too rarely today.
Then Light In The Tunnel comes along, creeping up on you. The song is quite passable but not unique, either. Gone For Good is in a different league: unwieldy, without a consistent structure and driven by individual elements that cleverly fit together. The Makemakes shine again here. Their skills also shine through in Little Is Much More, even if the musicians have a particular penchant for stadium arrangements.
Probably the biggest irritation is the sleepy, soulful Save Me. A song for a sweaty tryst. It's actually an exciting song, but it seems out of place on the record.
In the end, the trio proves honesty but perhaps also irony. Pathetic Peace Song comes with such a fat portion of pathos that Scorpion's Wind of Change begins to tremble.
If you leave out the intro, there are twelve songs on the self-titled album. Nevertheless, you are exhausted afterwards. It is overloaded with references to music history: Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin. And you don't know whether they are laudable tributes or simply a lack of ideas.
The Makemakes – The Makemakes
Release: 24/09/2015
- Snakes & Candy
- Sweet Home
- Mary
- Your Are Not Alone
- Merry Goodbye
- I Am Yours
- Big Bang
- Heartache
- Light In The Tunnel
- Gone For Good
- Little Is Much More
- Save Me
- Pathetic Peace Song
