Pitchfork rating: 8.3
My rating: 6.2
I rue the fact that I’ll (most likely) never get a chance to see Giddy Motors live. Make It Pop, their 8-song, 35-minute debut is (mostly) maximalist post-punk that fuels itself on the thrill of spontaneity. In a live setting, it could be sublime. On an album, it wavers between exhilarating and frustrating.
Even with its brief runtime, Make It Pop is exhausting. It takes on an aimless trajectory where just about any combination of shuffling the songs would sound just as coherent as the actual tracklisting. It kicks things off impressively with “Magmanic” a propulsive number that is a showcase for the two MVPs of the album: vocalist Gaverick de Vis and drummer Manu Ros. The chemistry between the unrelenting percussion and de Vis’ mixture of screams and cooing (think pigeon, not baby) gives the album power and momentum that it has trouble building.
As engineered by Steve Albini, Make It Pop feels overly dense. The low end is so prominent at times, things become muddled. One of the jazzier numbers, “Hit Cap” gives an intriguing saxophone riff and some horn-like tonality to the guitar, but the bass tones are so thick it feels like going through a swamp. There isn’t any salvation through the song’s progression either; it comes in, does a few interesting things with a few instruments and then abruptly concludes. It certainly sounds nice, but it feels like Giddy Motors are forfeiting a opportunity for every one that they seize.
Giddy Motors are at their best when they play with aggression. “Sassy” revives the pigeon coos of “Magmanic” and Albini’s claustrophobic production makes it feel like a traffic jam. de Vis’ chorus howls of “You asshoooooooole” are an excellent addition that strike a great balance between comical and unsettling. The closer, “Whirled By Curses” lacks any sense of finality, but its shifting from Slint-esque spoken-word to a Liars-esque first-hand violent narrative is inspired. The same can’t be said for its predecessor, “Venus Medallist,” a string-led instrumental that is so polished it doesn’t feel real. Its failure isn’t that it doesn’t fit; its failure is that it just isn’t a very good song.
I’ve seen my share of movies that have a few fantastic, exciting scenes while the rest isn’t anything impressive. So, I’ll scout out these scenes on YouTube and enjoy them as stand-alone moments. That is what Make It Pop feels like: thrilling in parts, frustrating as a whole.
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