(Sub Pop) www.subpop.com
"Oh dear, oh dear, what can the matter be, seems The Makers have got their noses stuck to the lavatory..." and have turned in their Goat's Head Soup / It's Only Rock'n'Roll / Black And Blue to Rock Star God's Exile majesty. I feared the worst after reading Manthon's review on the rawk, but as I've spent the last 2/3 years ranting about them and playing em to people I've been playing this a lot and it's still a disappointment. Hell, I name-check them on one of our songs, now I'm in a quandary. In their defiance tho' they changed over the course of Hunger and Pyscopathia Sexualis (nb - the only albums I have because they're fucking hard to find over here, even the sub pop ones only appear infrequently in 2nd hand stores, they don't have a section in our big chains even like MCD's and The Guerrilla, so label guys lissen up! On second thoughts that might be why they appear jaded, but then again why would they give a fart about over here, hell we don't but that's our gig I guess) in preparation for their ascendancy to the thrones of rock star gods and this is a further deviation. So that could be a credit for ambition and trying to expand but it's not for the better. It just sounds like leftover bits from RSG just as Goat's Head was leftover Exile-turkey without the trimmings. As that Stones album had stuff like Silver Train and Hide Your Love then so .... Parade has Addicted to Dying, Laughter Then Violence and Elvis, John and Jesus (which has the lines "But I believed rock is dead, the guitar licks in my head, couldn't raise me from my bed" which could be a hint of the state they're in, no?) which have some of the urgency and shake-a-shake of old. Going with the two parts, with an intro for each like on RSG they could also be charting the comedown to the earlier album and playing out parts... aptly it does remind me of Dame David in his Aladdin Sane / Diamond Dogs era... but it's full of little segue interludey bits that don't really do a lot except lead you to think they've been too stoned to finish the songs. A shame cos I love The Makers, they've written one of my all time favourite records, some of the choicest rawk lyrics, have good foot attire and while the apparent adventurousness could be commended it just seems that they reached a pinnacle on RSG. Hell, THAT was enuff of an achievement, every goddamn song a damn good classic. Maybe they've stumbled trying to emulate it, I don't know but it hurts ma good nature to have to write up a bad review of them. Oh well, I'm sure I'll live as I'm sure they will. Next time. - Stu Gibson