Album Details

• Artist: Makeout Party
• Album: Lengths And Limits
• Label: Make Music Collective
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: lekwon on 2008-12-01

Six years ago, New Jersey gave us the sorrowful melodies of The Early November, who was quickly revered for their emotional presence and vibe in such honest songs. Now with the music scene having become less concerned about poignant works of art and more fascinated with creating a market out of a renovated “emo” genre, it is very difficult to find bands with as much promise and sincerity as The Early November once had.  However, the Garden State once again happens to be cultivating a new band to hopefully revive the long-mised definition of “emotional” in rock ballads and acoustic melodies. Makeout Party’s Lengths and Limits teeters between current market-friendly songs and then those that really put back an assurance into genuine musical creations.

The two highlights of the entire album are probably “Sparks” and “Conditional Needs,” both of which have exceptional lyrics and a lush quality to them that melts all nearby cold. The piano and strings arrangement in “Sparks” is highly notable, and the high string plucking of the guitar in “Conditional Needs” perpetuates and penetrates; it is not until over a minute that the soft vocals of Carmen Cirignano successfully takes over. Still, the album has got its share of lackluster conventional songs. “Back to Your Ways” and “Cut Two Years” both carry the same form of delivery and composition that has been heard in other less rousing artists.

The second half of the album is like turning on a previously missed switch. A new round of sounds are introduced, giving the latter half a more poppy quality to it. This is where the album staggers a little bit from a wonderful first section to a slightly disappointing second because of its transition from tenderness to an uninspiring mainstream. Nevertheless, “11/97” is a smart closer with the sounds of an acoustic guitar that reminds me why I even wanted to listen to this album in its entirety.

On the brink of desperation, I have been trying to find a new artist to hold on to very tightly in this realm of an “emo” genre of music that has become so popular throughout all the airwaves. Makeout Party happens to be the band that I am relying on, especially after hearing the solid effort of Lengths and Limits.

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