Make Up preach punk-rock gospel with three-chord minimalist rave-ups infused with a whole lotta soul. Imagine some kind of Prince/James Brown bastard stepchild raised on DIY ethics and DC punk. Ian Svenonius struts and prances his vocal pyrotechnics all over the funky backdrop, ranting, pleading, whispering, and shouting from his pulpit. I Want Some collects the best of Make Up singles, released on a host of indie labels, and the result, easily their best album, is jangled, whacked out, and splenetic. Though Make Up (like their predecessors Nation of Ulysses) imagine themselves as some kind of socialist-DIY collective, neither their half-baked political rants nor their hip cultural critiques are worth taking seriously. But the frenetic groove they hit on "Born on the Floor," the shake-your-ass stomp of "Pow! to the People," and the agonized soulful croon of "Walking on the Dune"--now that's serious. --Tod Nelson
Review by Heather Phares
Though it's not really a proper album, the Make-Up's 1999 singles compilation I Want Some is nevertheless their most dynamic, focused, and expressive collection of songs. Rave-ups like "Pow! To the People," "Every Baby Cries the Same," "The Untouchable Sound," and "Free Arthur Lee" showcase the development of the group's kinetic grooves and Svenonius' charismatic vocals, but quieter, introspective songs like "The Choice" and "Little Black Book" prove their versatility. The gritty pop of tracks like "Walking on the Dune" and "Born on the Floor" completes I Want Some's portrait of the Make-Up as one of the underground's most stylish -- and substantial -- bands.
|
