Aural Fixations

THE MAKERS
Stripped
(Kill Rock Stars)
Let's turn the clock back a decade. Seattle's Makers were one of the leading lights of a garage punk underground with deep roots in the Pacific Northwest going back to the early 60s (see: the Kingsmen, the Sonics), one that existed prior to anyone named Jack White getting in the game. The problem was, the sharply-dressed band's rep rested mostly on its ferocious live performances, as its records (released on garage rock's torchbearing label Estrus) verged on the generic when it came to actual songs. Flash forward to the late 90s, and a band in transformation. The group, chafing against the inherent restrictions of three-chord garage rock, dropped the black suits for 70s rock star finery and makeup and the Nuggets pastiches for a more melodic and decadent sound inspired by glam rock, late 70s punk and the Rolling Stones. The result was the acclaimed concept album Rock Star God and the underappreciated apex Strangest Parade, both of which expanded the Makers' audience amongst critics and classic rock fans, but gained scorn from the garage rock crowd that had previously sustained them.

So now it's the mid-00s, and the Makers have decided to revisit their older garage punk material in their current rock star incarnations on Stripped. Despite the liner notes' proclamation that "the Makers pay tribute to the Makers," it seems like a somewhat pointless endeavor on the face of it. The old songs sound primitive compared to the band's recent tunes, almost like taking several steps backwards, and might well puzzle later fans. Older diehards will simply accuse the group of jumping on the bandwagon of the garage rock movement it was a part of over a decade ago. It seems like a lose-lose situation, except for two things: one, the Makers likely don't give two shits what anybody thinks, and two, Stripped is a damned good album. Cherrypicking tunes from the Estrus era and assorted singles, the band applies its recent mastery of rock & roll to material that requires little more than energy and volume to get across. Breakneck burners like "Tear Apart," "Hot Kiss" and "Do What I Wanna" lose none of their relentless momentum in the band's pursuit of actual dynamics. Slower tunes (well, slower in this context) like "Let Him Try" and "Sad Little Bug" benefit immeasurably from the finesse. Indeed, the group finds unexpectedly sharp hooks and catchy melodies within those three and four chords. Guitarist Jamie Frost adds flamethrowing solos that never show off, blending another layer of rock goodness to the pie. Singer Michael Maker finds the middle ground between his previous, monochromatic sneer and his current melodramatic bawl—considering that both approaches require attitude more than anything else, it can't have been hard. Besides, no matter how advanced the guys' musicianship or stronger their dynamic sense, the band plays these tunes like it's the last time (which may be the case, who knows?), and the energy level could substitute for rocket fuel. Whether they're upholding a stringent garage rock tradition or fancying themselves the heirs to superstar Olympus, the Makers' goal has always been simply to rock, and they rock like all hell on Stripped. Michael Toland [buy it]