Album Review: The Makemakes – The Makemakes
3 min read
Austrian pop/rock trio The Makemakes are a household name back home, and they were selected to represent their country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. After Austrian Conchita Wurst took out the title last year the pressure was on, unfortunately the group tied with Germany in last place. No matter: the show must go on and being thrown into the international spotlight may have sparked some interest in their debut album, The Makemakes, just like it has sparked ours.
The short and snappy intro Snakes & Candy is soon eclipsed by the energetic Sweet Home. It contains barely a dull moment. Mary is a smooth number, just when you think it’s going to explode forever it resettles before the final bridge takes off. Demonstrating some track versatility, You Are Not Alone has an interesting atmosphere with its persistent beat and quirky melody, and again with the more subtle soft rock ballad Merry Goodbye. The group’s Eurovision entry I Am Yours wins you over with its piano driven melody, subtle beat and heartfelt lyrics; underrated to say the least, this track should have scored a higher place for the trio. This recording will give you as many goose bumps as their performance in the competition did. Big Bang has a fun country rock vibe to it, it’s sure to get you bopping along, while Heartache has an intriguing beginning as the vocal fades into the verse before getting right into its addictive sound.
You will listen in awe as the smooth and edgy guitar intro to Light In The Tunnel takes you on a journey to a land of solid rock and kick butt vocal work. Is that an acoustic guitar we hear? Yes it is. Gone For Good seems like a more laid back number at first but don’t be fooled, the beat and the electric guitars find their way into the track and take over. The Makemakes are on fire once again with the ambient and powerful Little Is Much More – that quiet bridge doesn’t extinguish any of the energy that burns through the veins of this number. There’s a soulful side to this group, and it’s demonstrated nicely with the track Save Me. Now this is a group that could get away with writing anything. Pathetic Peace Song has a not so pathetic ring to it: its melody is extremely memorable and will send shivers down your spine, with a sweet instrumental outro to bring the album to an impeccable end.
The Makemakes should definitely be proud of the first album they ever made-made: it’s packed with stunning guitar work, a wide mix of boppy and subtle beats, and vocal arrangements to die for. They didn’t win Eurovision, but who cares? One song can not define an artist wholly, to truly understand their art you need to delve into their work as deep as you can; The Makemakes is a great album to listen to, an instantaneous enjoyment from song number one, a feat which many artists wish to achieve with their debut release. Hopefully we’ll hear more from The Makemakes over the years. They’ve got something special.
