Album Review :: Make War :: Make War

Written by: Andrea Janov, CC2K Music Editor

Make War :: Make War :: Black Numbers

This self titled album by Make War, immediately took me back to the late 90s and all the local bands that I grew up listening to. They are a bit punk, a bit emo, a bit garage, and all fucking heart.

Though this album feels like it has a distinct A side and B side the vibe carries throughout the whole record. There is a rawness about the music and the lyrics that is intoxicating and a passion that just oozes out of the vocals. Every track is a break up song, possibly all about the same girl. I really hope it is about the same girl, especially as it is set up in track 2, Just Listen to the Songs, “Will you take some time to listen to the songs / that I wrote of you”.

The album starts off with, Blood Faces, a straightforward punk that will get the pit moving.  Just Listen to the Songs continues in that vein and Against the Rules has a super cool sing along section.  Shorter Days and Longer Nights is full of passion and feeling just seeping out, yet it strikes a beautiful balance aggression and vulnerability.

It is at track 5, When the Poison Flows, where you would feel like shift. It is a soft, slow, acoustic track that progresses from almost folk into a killer screamo section. The juxtaposition of styles yet the natural flow creates a powerful raw song. The lyrics to this one also have a simple way of cutting right to the core, “When i fall asleep / it’s like a little you comes up inside my brain / and is playin with my dreams” and  “The next morning I wake up / right next to your replacement / and a bottle in my hand / because when you leave, I fall”.

Second Floor is fast song  with a rockabilly beat and Another Way to Let You Go is slow and acousti with my favorite lyrics of the whole album, “She lied about the future / when I was young enough to care”. Sweet Little Nightmares is a slow track that sums up the whole album in one line, “This is my heart in the form of a song”. The album ends with, Cheers to You an upbeat/screamo/bro song. If you take a step back, by the end of the album you feel kinda like how the hell did we get here? It is so different than where we started, yet the progression felt so natural.

Stream Against the Rules and Just Listen to the Songs.