February 24, 2016

Make - In Pursuit

By Karen A. Mann.
By Karen A. Mann.


I wrote last year that The Golden Veil by North Carolina’s Make was the best album I’ve ever heard by a North Carolina band. I am lucky to live in a state with a very strong music community (not just metal), so I knew that was a strong statement, but months later I still agree. A trio from Chapel Hill, Make has been active for years, but seemed to burst into greatness (and garner a lot of well-deserved praise in the process) with that one release. That album is a brilliant mixture between unstructured distorted, instrumental ambience and pure lumbering, bellowed rock songs.

In December, the band suddenly released a two-song EP, In Pursuit, which picks up where The Golden Veil left off.

Photos by Karen.

The EP begins with “Always Waiting for the Bigger Axe to Fall,” an 11-minute instrumental piece that gradually moves between pure noise to a simple, slightly distorted, melody, that grows into a slightly funky groove.

“Between the Ocean and Your Open Vein” is shorter at 5:28 and is also instrumental, but begins with a structured beat that gradually becomes more layered and shimmering.

With only two songs, In Pursuit leaves the listener just slightly unsatisfied, which is one reason why it’s best as a companion to The Golden Veil and is perfect either as a precursor or a coda to that release. Hopefully it’s also a bridge to another transcendent release from this remarkable band.

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