Reviews

Make Believe is the bizarro-version of the band Joan of Arc, created as a creative outlet to challenge themselves to create something new from what they had. Its basically a progressive rock project, with weird timings and odd phrasing layered with a really unnerving manner of playing guitar that seems like it is never in time but somehow always works out in the end. There are no effects or production tricks, the only things floating around are a bunch of weird thoughts and ideas. They give me a strong Fugazi vibe, but a lot of stripped down prog-rock does that for me, so I’m not too sure about the distinction. The vocals are well-fit, with really odd lyrics, like in the 5th song (Abracadabra – Thumbs!) where they proclaim “the clouds are snow and snow is clouds” and “sit on your hands and wait till you have no hands.”  I’m not especially excited about this cd, but it definitely is a cool listen sometimes. I also really like what they are trying to do, to strip down and use generic instruments to make something that doesn’t sound like anything else. I tentatively recommend, and it is an EP, so maybe take a chance on it.