The Makers
"Stripped"
Kill Rock Stars

It’s been a while since I’ve heard anything by Seattle’s Makers. They were at the forefront of the mid-90s garage rock revival, playing amped-up Nuggets and Back from the Grave type rock and roll, touring the country in a hearse. They put out a few albums on Estrus Records between 1992 and 1997, moved to Sub Pop when I wasn’t looking, managed to get a four-star review from Rolling Stone and are now on Kill Rock Stars.

I saw the Makers twice in 1997. In May, they played with the Insomniacs and Thee Headcoats at the late Tramps in NYC. It was a rock and roll show the way it was meant to be… it was dirty and it was loud. In September, they played Maxwell’s in Hoboken in support of Psychopathia Sexualis (their last Estrus release). Gone were the four-button suits, exchanged for some way-out glam scarves and capes. The music went from fuzzed-out garage punk to straight rock. It totally caught me off guard.

Stripped gives us some old Makers tunes re-done in their current style. The drums are heavier, the guitars kill and Mike Makers’ singing has gone from snotty wailing to plain ol’ filthy S-E-X. If you don’t get some action after playing “Hot Kiss” at your next party, there’s something wrong with your party. I dig this new shit. Too bad I missed ‘em on their last tour.

Reviewed by: Sal Lucci
Reviewed on: February 14, 2005