Makeout Party's Lengths and Limits: A Review

Alright, so maybe Makeout Party won't be making any "best band name" lists anytime soon, and maybe the moniker will automatically bring to mind overly-cute, sugar sweet twee bands or overly-embarrassing, nasally emo bands, but let's at least give these guys a chance. After all we've all loved at least one band with a bad name before, right?

Well, musically Makeout Party do sort of hit that nasal emo category, but before you get visions of neon t-shirts, headbands, angular haircuts, and eyeliner, let me clarify. They sound like the sort of nasally emo that was prevalent from the mid to late '90s, stuff like Jimmy Eat World, Further Seems Forever, and My Hotel Year. So yeah, the songs are about heartbreak, relationships, and growing up form the perspective of an overly-sensitive wide-eyed boy, but the songwriting is detailed and often lush, while the band's two vocalists found an array of ways to work in key harmonies and powerful backing vocals. It's a sound that has worked for many bands in the past, but Makeout Party seem to put their own stamp on it by using varied, often complicated arrangements rather than merely pounding out three chords at one continuous tempo.

"Back to Your Ways" opens with some warm organ tones before hitting a powerful barrage of drums and octave chords that will later be used for an anthemic chorus. The verses in between play with echoing guitar lines, windy backing vocals, and a hyperactive drum beat. If you can ignore the somewhat hyperbolic lyrics here, this song will surely remind you of a time before "emo" was an evil word with a dress-code and market-research department attached to it.

Other songs like the Coldplay meets Get Up Kids sound of "Cut Two Years," and the Braid-influenced "We Are Sinking," with its angular rhythms and optimistic bursts both serve as examples of just what Makeout party do best; that is rock interesting and intersecting guitar lines that are energized by some vibrant, creative drumming, while excellent melodies float over top waiting to be sung along to. It's a sound that makes use of the layering process, leaving a rich and full product behind.

Sure some songs like the lengthy acoustic "Lengths and Limits" push the emotional thing a bit too far by sticking to the ballad archetype, but for the most part Lengths and Limits should serve as an excellent nostalgia trip for anyone familiar with the '90s emo movement, or as a smart and catchy pop-rock album for just about anyone.