This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
If a religious cult kidnapped The Artist Formerly Known As Prince and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, locked them in a cellar for six months and brainwashed them, they might come out sounding like this Washington, D.C., gospel-punk foursome.
That’s right, gospel-punk. It’s the only way to describe The Make-Up’s crazed collision of styles — a place where the James Brown get-down groove of Clyde Stubblefield meets the angular chop of indie-rock guitars, the freakysexy moan of TAFKAP and the testifying yelp of a revival meeting. You won’t be able to tell if singer Ian Svenonius wants to save your soul or play the devil’s music — either way, it seems he wants to lay his hands on you.
