Reverend & the Makers have been performing for a decade now, and the indie-rock band were formed in Sheffield. The current five-piece consists of; Jon McClure on lead vocals ‘The Reverend’ , Ed Cosens on the guitar, McClures multi-talented Wife; Laura on the keyboard and trumpet, Joe Carnell on bass and Ryan Jenkinson on the drums. Reverend & the Makers have supported such acts as; Arctic Monkeys in 2006, Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2008, Oasis in 2009, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds in 2012 – alongside various festivals including Glastonbury and T in the Park.
As I don’t listen to Reverend & the Makers, I was ever so surprised at how short their tracks are. Their first track ‘Amsterdam’ is only 1:14, and it is very abstract and enigmatic to say the least. It sounds like an opening track to a film. Their second track 'Black Widow' is the most renowned track off their new album, and it has a very 80's twist to it. The Arctic Monkeys styled guitar riffs from Cosens and Carnell on the bass mainly dominate this track. Their third track 'Makin' Babies' is very Beatles inspired and sounds influenced by 60's/70's psychedelia, admittedly it is very catchy.
"Everyone I know is makin'babies, what about us? What about us? Everyone I know is making sweet, sweet love. What about us? What about us?"
Their fourth track 'Stuck On You' sounds very much like some of the Arctic Monkeys work. I think the relation to Arctic Monkeys is McClures low and slow voice, plus the perfect alecution of his lyrics. Again another short track, amongst the rest. One of my favourite tracks is their next song; 'The Beach And The Sea'. It's ever so repetitive, and the guitar riffs remain simple, yet effective.
"I'll be the beach and you'll be the sea, I want you to wash all over me."
I like this track as it has endless possibilities of meanings. I reckon everybody who has listened to this song, interprets things differently. I interpret it in the way that a beach wouldn't be a beach without the sea, therefore he wouldn't be himself without this lover. He wants to embrace the fact that he'd be nothing without her ("I want you to wash all over me"), and things wouldn't make sense without her. Therefore the woman has him right where she wants him, hence the feminine laughing towards the end of the track.
Their sixth track 'The Trip' is short, yet it builds up the mood again in preparation for another slow song; their seventh track 'El Cabrera'. This track has a very westernised feel to it, however it's more of an instrumental than a song. No lyrics, except some odd noises. It's a pretty pointless and disappointing track unfortunately. However they do turn things around with their next track -'Blue'. Upbeat guitars and drums introduce this song shortly accompanied by the vocals, this is one of those songs that you just want to get up and dance to.
Their ninth track 'Something To Remember' is their last song that is in the one-minute range. This is quite a melancholic song, reminiscing back to a good time with an old friend. 'Mr Glassalfempty' is another favourable song of theirs that I like off this album. This is due to the effectiveness of the backing vocals, giving it a 60's twist to it and it is simple yet effective - much like 'The Beach And The Sea'. I'm not much for their eleventh track 'The Gun' in all honesty; as it doesn't particularly do anything for me, it sounds too similar to their previous tracks. I'm intrigued as to what their twelfth track 'My Mirror' is going to be like, as it should be one of the stronger tracks of the album as I am presuming that it is the title track. Again, I don't see the need for this track within the album I think they should not have had 14 tracks. Perhaps narrowed it down to 10? 'Last To Know' is their second to last track on the album and I like it! It's slow and melancholic, which automatically makes you want to sway. This song also really shows off McClures vocal range.
"And now you're realising that she's just been lying, and you were the last to know"
Their final song to conclude the album is called 'Lay Me Down' and surprisingly, it's the longest track on the album. The instrumental has quite a westernised twang to it, much like 'El Cabrera'. I wanted the final song to be a lot more upbeat, unlike the rest.
"I needed somebody to lay me down"
In conclusion, I'm not much for the album as a whole. Admittedly, I do like some of the songs a lot - like; The Beach And The Sea, Mr Glassalfempty, Last To Know Stuck On You, Black Widow and Makin'Babies. However, there are several tracks within the album that are just album fillers - which don't need to be there. 'El Cabrera' is a perfect example. I think that if the album had less tracks, and was structured better - I would like it a lot more.
6/10
When saying Rev sound like arctic monkeys,that's because John is good friends with the monkeys, he mentored them and taught them how to write music, so it's more them drawing from his style
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