The Makers have been making garage-rock since well before The Strokes had pubes, and they’ve been doing it quite well for almost as long. That they’ve been a bit of a secret for the few who know their name isn’t their fault; the world just hasn’t been ready for them. Sure, music trends have come and gone, but the Makers have remained rock-solid firm in their commitment to the principles of making quality rock and roll music. Fifteen years in, they’ve yet to make a disappointing record. That their latest album Everybody Rise! may very well be their masterpiece is saying a lot, as their previous album, 2002’s Strangest Parade, was damn near perfect.
Though there’s been a bit of a lineup change (veteran guitarist Tim Maker is back in the band, and they have a new drummer, Aaron), it doesn’t really affect the band’s music at all; the new line up is extremely tight, and from the first moments of Everybody Rise!, it’s instantly apparent that The Makers are back, baby.
And damn, they’ve delivered some of the best rock music 2005’s seen so far. From the joyous blues-rock punch of “Matter of Degrees” and the sly “Good as Gold” to the beautiful ballad “Ordinary Human Love,” The Makers cover every possible emotion. They get sexy (“Tiger of the Night”) but then they turn around and get rather tender (“Run with Me Tonight”) and they do so with natural grace and ease. Though they still have a sound that’s rough and rocky and reminiscent of the first decade of the Jagger/Richards collaboration, the fifteen-year-old Makers still sound better than the forty-five year old Rolling Stones.
Special love should be given to “The Story of You & I,” though, because it’s a song that has so much magic. With a Hammond organ riff that’s totally stolen from Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” Michael Maker has composed a beautiful, beautiful love song. It’s about falling in love and not getting the love back you deserve, but it’s also a rather positive message: I love you, even though you totally broke my heart, but the feeling of love is greater than your cheatin’ heart. This song is so wonderful, it deserves to be pressed up on a seven inch and shipped to all the hip jukeboxes of the world, then it needs to make an appearance on The OC, and even though such things are kind of mainstream and lame, The Makers deserve the opportunity to show you how much they rule.
Everybody Rise! is simply a damn good rock record. No more, no less.
--Joseph Kyle
Artist Website: http://www.themakersband.com
Label Website: http://www.killrockstars.com
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