Sand caked on skin. A dark night sky. Frigid waters and a small bonfire illuminating a dark expanse of shale, rocks, and seaweed. You might be on a west coach beach, or you might be listening to Makeout Reef’s newest album Star Power. Right from the beginning, Star Power transports you to a moody world of their own creation, and if you close your eyes you can hear the push and pull of the crashing tides.
I’ve been an avid listener of Makeout Reef since my freshman year, and they are often considered a starter band in the world of surf rock. Hearing their second album was fantastic and held songs of similar—if not better quality than their first album Existential. The band has a unique distant-echo that crosses the line between surf rock and garage rock.
After doing more research, I found that their album is produced by Jonny Bell of Jazzcats Studio in Long Beach, CA and this added to my excitement. He produced for some of my favorite bands, most notably Sun Room, Buttertones, and Daywave. The improved production quality is apparent, and each song feels more consistent as opposed to the hit-or-miss tracks found on their previous album.
Centered around the band’s usual theme—doomed relationships—Makeout Reef is an expert at choosing various angles to an otherwise common topic. Tracks like “I Don’t Wanna Know” express a desire to remain ignorant in a relationship, “Cos it’s above the clouds past thе trees / (I don’t wanna know) / Well don’t you know anything, anything about me.”
The album’s melodic thrashing makes it a clear product of Makeout Reef. My top track of the album is “Get Here,” with its constant fluctuation of pitch in the vocals. The push and pull of the vocal’s pitch and volume makes it almost gravitational. The song truly mimics the tides not only in it’s surf element, but in orientation of the vocals and instrumentation. It’s fun undertones and bouncy guitar riffs make it a lighter listen as well.
The song with my favorite lyrics is “Moments”, and I found it to be the most distinct because it let the instrumentation fall to the background and the vocals take center stage. In terms of guitar, it sounded slightly British, with influences like Oasis and Arctic Monkeys present in the tight, loung-like quality of the chords. The song opens with “I do this to myself / Memories that I should’ve shelved / Mostly it keeps me trapped / Hear your voice it comes flooding back.” Like most of the songs on this album, “Moments” stays faithful to the continued theme of relationships; losing them, maintaining them, or wanting to leave them. This track’s lyrics focuses on the internal turmoil, seeing a relationship in the present and in the past. The clever wording and perspective make this song stand above the rest lyrically.
Another standout track is “Tied.” This song felt more juvenile, from its lyrics to its guitar playing, but the intentional application made it into a cute satire, rather than an annoying song about angst. It has rebellious undertones mixed with young love, showcasing lyrics like “Steal the car and let them wonder / Save your heart / Even if you got none.” It felt more unsteady than some of the other songs in terms of vocals, but I think this adds to the singer’s vulnerability and emphasizes the song’s plotline.
While this album definitely has its fair share of trademark surf rock tracks, Makeout Reef also leans into pure punk rock, especially with “Are We Friends,” “Moctezuma,” and “It Just Is.” Those songs have grunge elements and focus on the coordination of the vocals, drums, and guitar as opposed to presenting unique guitar elements. While these songs aren’t my favorite, they provide a nice buffer between the similar sounding songs. I found that songs like “Moctezuma”, “Are We Friends”, and “It Just Is” were more head heavy with a focus on shredding as opposed to melody. This combination made it feel like I was spinning in circles in the dark. Despite this, I still like them, just not on the same level of enjoyment.
My only grievance is that the album lost some of its snarling vocals found on the last album. By snarling vocals, I mean the vocals often found in dirty rock and southwestern rock, often packed with bold personality. In this album, attitude was exchanged for a more mature sound, which left me a bit disappointed.
All in all, Makeout Reef’s newest album is a must-hear if you are a fan of rock. Its delicate balance of instrumentation, vocals, and melody make them the go-to background music for any occasion—despite the fact that listening to them in concert would no doubt result in a thriving moshpit. The atmosphere they create is adaptive, and I hope they achieve the fame they deserve.
