Tim Kinsella is a figurehead of genuinely progressive music, and Make Believe’s first long-player proves worthy of your should-be high expectations. Immediate comparisons to Joan of Arc are in order since, well, they’re composed of the same members, but what two JofA records sound alike, anyway?
Make Believe, as their own entity, keep things upbeat, off-kilter, angular, and at times grooving. Guitarist Sam Zurick’s finger tapping style stands out at the forefront musically, providing a nice blend of rhythmic variation and technical precision that overall bares some similarity to early Beefheart, or even their indie rock understudies, U.S. Maple.
However, Shock of Being lacks the scattered, jagged edges of the aforementioned groups and instead carries a similar musical feel from one track to the next, which frequently finds itself to be melodic and in common time. The instrumental passages, and especially the few trance-inducing vamp sections, show a group that plays with incredible cohesion and precision, accented by occasional well-placed auxiliary instruments.
While Tim Kinsella gives his usual love-it-or-hate-it vocal performance, it’s the band that makes this a worthwhile listen. And though I wish the music were more challenging from a harmonic standpoint, Make Believe is certainly a band worth watching for those of us who are into the experimental.
– Tom Youth
Make Believe (Flameshovel)