|
|
| PRESS |
Great Fan Quote from Marina on Myspace
"Makar, I miss you, a lot. Another day is the most charming song I have heard I think, yeah with the piano and pretty guitar, it’s like coming home after a trip, all warm inside the belly, mm it’s a great feeling and that is like your music to me, and the harmony, yeah it brings shivers, with the guitar, and the way you sing wayyy, ah elegant, I feel so bad for missing you, your music is like the sunshine on this dreary evening, or I guess the moon, but yes it feels so good to hear your voice again, so wholesome, it’s like being surrounded by family. Mmm Makar, I also feel so bad for taking you off my top 8, I’m sorry about that, I’ll bring you back, you are probably one of the most genuine sounding bands I have heard on myspace, maybe in general, think so. Ahhh I live in an amazing world to be able to hear you, your voices are so happy and make me feel all warm and happy inside like a new born puppy or something, but yes you are so brilliant, and I like the "What Can I Tell You" it's catchy and yes just wonderful, what a voice you have there, you could bop around to this type of music, wonderful! Your phrasing is special as well, ahhh marvelous and classics definitely to me. Um I hope you remember me by the way I certainly remember you very clearly. Ahhh here's my favorite song ever, I totally remember this one, "The Country Song" ahhh yeah really this is the all time favorite song of yours, it’s the one that I first heard when I added you and I was so happy, really I was, your music is illuminating or something, so brilliant, ahhhh, wooo, oh and the “I Hate My Job” yeah it’s so negative, but you seem to be so happy about it, a song about hate, but it’s so upbeat, why, ahhhh I love it, I wanna hear you say I hate you more, go ahead hate me, I just want to hear you sing it, with the catchy guitar, and the way it is sung with passion, wooo and you get all energized and it picks up pace. I think you should rock, because this music has saved my soul..mm yes. So how have you been? It’s special how it gets a bit slower towards the end, it’s my favorite, and the riiiiight part and then the pace quickens, it is pretty exciting for a song about hate, ah so perky about the hate, see songs like this make you great, so great right now, so yes cheeers! And cheers to your tempo changes, it is thrilling! Mmm thank you for letting me find you again, it was the bulletin, I’m so glad my ears are refreshed and you made me happy, oh you don’t even know how happy, so anyways I hope you are well, the pleasure has been all mine to listen to you again, thaaaaaaaaank you."
By Marina
Myspace.com
2/11/2007
"Boy-girl piano/guitar avant-garde sing along music."
"A superb, balanced palette of drums, guitar and high crooning voices. A completely satisfying album with no real start or endpoint to it, nor concept. File it next to Velvet Underground's "Loaded" for sheer pop loveliness from your curators, Mark and Andrea. Singles include "I Hate My Job" (a rousing rant against the corporates), "Damion Day" (the requisite piano-guitar rave up, a crowd favorite). It's hard not to like the strong piano sound from Mark on "All I Know". "Honey Colored Time" has the most crossover potential...a song against the man.....but under what flag? Shimmer, slowness, even salaciousiness, so much to love about this rock quartet."
Review of Makar's debut album, 99 Cent Dreams
Radio Crystal Blue
By Dan Herman
12/2006
http://www.radiocrystalblue.com
"Makar is what happens when you cross the current indie revolution with a tinge of folk rock. Their debut album, 99 Cent Dreams, is an absolute joy to listen to. Every song is based on a real emotion or real thing, something that a lot of bands just can't seem to write good songs about these days. This album is catchy and has a sound that definitely stands out from the rest of the bands out there. It's not going to appeal to the metal heads or rap fanatics, but everyone else out there with an open mind will find an intriguing collection of songs.
Andrea and Mark are the two singers of Makar, and both have an extremely impressive vocal range. Mark's singing is typically more laid back and very smooth to listen to. It flows well with the instrumental work, and his vocals are what give the music a bit of an indie rock vibe. Andrea's singing is all over the place, but this is not a bad thing at all (it just might make things a little inaccessible to some listeners). Her voice is incredible and it especially shows on songs such as "All I Know", where she gives an extremely melodic performance that is definitely tear worthy. However, it is her screeches on songs such as the opener "I Hate My Job" that will grab a lot of listener's attentions. They are very high pitched and sometimes can be compared to some of the female punk singers out there (which is an unusual mix).
The instrumental work is superb, there's no better way to put it. The opener is a fast paced surf-rock esque track that quickly transitions into a more laid back ballad style track. Although Makar has plenty of folk rock vibes, there are also songs that allude to a country style. The group likes to jump between more mellow and up-tempo segments, although I will admit that I personally like the more mellow aspects. It may seem like a crazy mix at times (especially when mixing in the opening track with some of the later ones), but everything falls into place.
Makar's debut album is a wonderful trip through a wonderland of infectious tracks that the average person will be able to relate though. The two vocalist aspect (one male, one female) also gives the music a bit more depth than one would initially think. In an industry that is slowly leaning towards corporate cookie cutter rock 'n roll and stereotypical rap music, Makar isn't afraid to think outside of the box and come up with music that anyone can enjoy. 99 Cent Dreams is definitely a noteworthy album, and I can't wait to see where the group goes from here. "
Review of Makar's debut album, 99 Cent Dreams
Cosmosgaming.com
by Chris Dahlberg
6/20/06
http://www.cosmosgaming.com/articles.php?id=404&articletype=review
"New York's Makar finds a delicate way to mix their influences into something all their own defying comparison to anyone. Maybe it's the shared vocals of Andrea DeAngelis and Mark Purnell that stand out inside of each song. Maybe it's the small things that really start standing out the more I listen to the disc… the piano lightly chugging like it were in a Mississippi juke joint? Is it the guitars resembling the psychedelic sixties or the post punk clang heard in the eighties? Whatever it is that I'm hearing, makes Makar a musical genius worth telling people about. So pile into the van, make it fast and throw on this disc!"
Review of Makar's debut album, 99 Cent Dreams
IndependentsOnly.com
By Monk
4/4/2006
http://www.independentsonly.com/reviews.html
“Not going to lie, my favorite thing about Makar is the lyrics. Every song is based on an honest, coherent poem. Topics range from hating “The Man” to loving your spouse. Makar also has that rare ability, prized by such bands as Rasputina, to write about unconventional subjects and not make annoying songs. I Hate My Job sounds like obnoxious surf music, and yet, I dig it. It makes me think of those days when you are so frustrated that you break into crazed, but ultimately hilarious complaining. “I hate my job. I hate my life. I hate my girl. I hate my wife. And I hate you!” A personal favorite from 99 Cent Dreams is The Country Song. It’s a cowboy story in which God apparently gives up. And it also features some pretty lyrics, “I’ll find my way home tonight somehow, even if my guide’s a firefly.” That is the tip of the iceberg; you’ll have to check out Makar yourself to get the full treatment.”
Review of Makar's debut album, 99 Cent Dreams
Northeast In-Tune
by Stephanie Crosby
2/24/06
http://www.northeastintune.com/feb06/music/makar.html
"Makar are from New York, hate their jobs (opening track, I Hate My Job) and take their name from an old Scottish word meaning poet. 99 Cent Dreams is a self-released album featuring 18 tracks and they’ve sent a disc of live videos as well...They sound like New York. Not the recent New York, the Strokes and all that, but the older New York, the one that belonged to the Velvet Underground and the arty-types in The Village...This record is full of breadline-living bohemia and wanting to be Andy Warhol. The tunes are a mix of the Velvets and US college rock like Ben Fold’s Five. Plain, simple poetry set to decent melodies based around acoustic guitars with extras like pianos and whatever comes to hand laid over the top."
"I Can’t Tell You To Stay is a simple song sung beautifully by Andrea DeAngelis – a haunting tune that rises above the rest of their stuff. She sings it in falsetto, the words lost in the tune but the feeling staying put. Don’t know how you could get your hands on it, but it’d be worth hearing. " [from a live gig video at Luna Lounge found on http://www.sonicbids.com/makar]
Review of Makar's debut album, 99 Cent Dreams and Live Video
God is in the TV Zine
by Chris Helsby
10/23/2005
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/
"At first it was kinda hard to wrap my brain around Makar's debut CD, 99 Cent Dreams. The album definitely harkens back to an earlier age or idea with its late 60's' Go Go guitars, community theater boy/girl vocals, and healthy dose of boogie piano. It finally hit me - Makar sounds like an early 70's rock musical, filled with furry do-gooders all oddly earnest and projecting on a stage of rainbows and karma. With a vibe that's both reverent folk revivalism and (possibly) tongue-in-cheek pastiche, 99 Cent Dreams owes as much to the "Jeepers Creepers" sketch from Mr. Show as it does to Hair. On "The Country Song", Mark Purnell's Vanagon blues vocals are periodically interrupted by sharp yelps from second vocalist Andrea DeAngelis, leading me to picture them both in technicolor dream coats on a stage mugging for a stoned, easy going audience. DeAngelis carries "What Can I Tell You" with an enjoyable blend of the Supremes and Suzi Quatro, simultaneous lush and chrome for what's probably the album's standout song. The title track, like much of the record, is really peppy and sunny, throwing in narrative tempo changes and a big blustry coda. Closer "Andrea" turns down the starshine with some minor key emotionalism after "I Don't Know God" sways its way through some mid-tempo coffee shop existentialism. While not your average folk/pop release, 99 Cent Dreams certainly displays its fair share of musical talent and theatrical bombast."
Review of Makar's debut album, 99 Cent Dreams
Blue Magazine
by Rooney
9/7/2005
http://bluemag.com/silencekit/002396
"The New York music scene recently flourished with electro and ‘80s-inspired bands, the band Makar is a breath of fresh air with its full-length debut 99 Cent Dreams. Timeless folk-based pop gems manifest Makar’s 99 Cent Dreams. The opening track “I Hate My Job” offers everyday man fantasies about leaving the 9 to 5 drudge to become a rockstar. The standout tune “What Can I Tell You” also appears on the compilation Freshly Squeezed Music vol. 1. Husband and wife Mark Purnell and Andrea DeAngelis not only share lead vocal duties, but also co-wrote 15 of the 18 songs jointly and arranged the album’s artwork. Purnell’s voice is surprisingly theatrical and DeAngelis, who proved her own at various poetry recitals in the Big Apple, flavorfully adds chirps, complementing the cadence. 99 Cent Dreams is available through cdbaby.com."
Review of Makar's debut album, 99 Cent Dreams
Windy City Times
"Pop Making Sense Article" by David Byrne
8/11/2005
Entire article can be found at:
http://www.windycitytimes.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=9162
"Makar is a New York based indie rock band who ain’t gonna take no shit no how. Whether it’s a diatribe and rant about work or religion, Makar tackles the issues head on with horns ready to stab anyone in the gut dumb enough to stand in their way. But based on these comments you’d think they had a hard edge to them; couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, Makar writes catchy pop-rock songs that could be mistaken for T-Rex writing folk-rock numbers. Good stuff."
Review of Makar's debut album, 99 Cent Dreams
Smother.net
by J-Sin
7/24/2005
http://www.smother.net/reviews/modernrock.php3?ID=1126
"MAKAR's music is strangely normal. They play their instruments like they were in a punk band...but the music they are playing is very classic sixties rock. The result is a feel somewhere inbetween the Sex Pistols and Lovin' Spoonful. Makar's Lyrics are wonderful. Simply put I find myself addicted to them. A song like "Lost Voices" doesn't come along every day, nor a musing like "The Country Song." The vocalist duet is right out of Belle & Sebastian, except the mans voice is deeper. This makes for a nice contrast. Both voices carry the sort of inner humor that allows them to make serious lyrics fun. The bands sound takes some getting used to and the first song will most likely scare you away, but if you listen to this CD a couple of times you will start to notice that there is some real genius behind the lyrics and the sound."
Review of Makar's debut album, 99 Cent Dreams
CDBabel.com
by E Jeff Einowski
6/29/05
http://www.cdbabel.com/showReview.php?reviewID=28
Interview with Makar
Riotland Comics Zine
by Anthony Killerbrew
3/1/2005
http://www.makarmusic.com/site/page1504.php
"New York City has done it again. Take a bow, because everything good just seems to gravitate towards the Big Apple. Makar’s imaginatively titled, 99 Cent Dreams, is one of those things. With a band name that means poet in 15th-century Scotland, their sound is described as “poet-pop-art-rock.” The band was given birth by band members Mark Purnell and his wife Andrea DeAngelis, both of whom write the lyrics and sing. [Dan Coates] rocks the bass and Jorge Arias seduces with percussion. The four make beautifully interwoven songs together.
As I listen to their songs on my beat up Discman, I feel as though I have gone through a series of flashbacks and have crash landed on the TV show, The Monkees. Zany, I know. Maybe it’s just because one of their songs is titled The Monkey? I have a strange thinking process. Yet, what makes their music so huggable? Their live CD was taken from a show at CBGB’s Gallery, and amidst the random clappings, it made me want to dance. With their crazy, switching time signatures, it’s one of those red light, green light dances, where at one point the music sways, and the next moment you realize your feet are tingling. I was especially impressed, because the songs were not professionally mixed or mastered. The tracks “Damion Day” and “I Hate My Job” are recommended for good times.
Their 18-song, full length debut is due out this summer, including the songs, I Hate My Job, The Monkey, and All I Know.”
Review of Makar's debut album rough mixes / 99 Cent Dreams
www.LeftOffTheDial.com
by Debbie Kang
7/26/04
http://www.leftoffthedial.com/Makar_99centRough.htm
|
|
