#wave machine

Makari - Wave Machine

I made it no secret that I was underwhelmed by the new Too Close To Touch album from a couple weeks back. The album, titled For Keeps, is a bittersweet look at the band’s final tracks with late vocalist Keaton Pierce, who passed away almost two years ago now. For diehard fans, they have some songs that they can sink their teeth into, especially since the band broke up after that, and even casual listeners have something new to listen to. I wanted to see if that album was a good introduction to the band, despite being a collection of songs they had in the pipeline after their vocalist passed, and it really wasn’t. The album is fine, but it was underwhelming in the sense that almost half of the album featured guest spots that overshadowed the band, and aside from a couple of excellent songs, they were just stuff we’ve heard before from them.

The reason I bring up how underwhelmed I was with that album, which wasn’t even that bad, is that I normally like their brand of pop-influenced post-hardcore. I love bands like Issues, Caskets, Archetypes Collide, and other bands that merge pop and R&B with metalcore and post-hardcore. Coincidentally, post-hardcore band Makari dropped their second album within the last couple weeks, and they’re a band that I’ve somewhat enjoyed. They’re not a big name in the genre, but vocalist Andy Cizek is a big deal in the genre (I last heard him on the latest Monuments album, where he joined as their new clean vocalist), and he’s got a set of pipes, so I was curious for new album Wave Machine. The crazy thing is that this is their first album in six years, despite putting out a couple of EPs since then, but I had no idea this was even coming out until I saw it on Apple Music a week or two ago.

Their last album, 2018’s Hyperreal, was a solid post-hardcore album that dabbled in pop and R&B, albeit not really adding anything new or unique to the genre. They’re one of those bands that do what they do well, and they can survive based on talent alone. These guys are clearly talented, but their sound isn’t anything to write home about. They have a knack for good hooks, and that’s where Wave Machine shines. Cizek is truly one of the best vocalists in this space, and this record shows. There are plenty of tracks with wonderful vocals and hooks, but the instrumentation is good, too. These guys sound a like bands like Hail The Sun, Circa Survive, and early Hands Like Houses, but a bit more emphasis on the pop side of their sound. The issue with that is, unfortunately, most of the songs run together, despite having solid hooks. A lot of these songs just feel formulaic, but they’re still good. They’re performed well, and they sound pleasant, but the more I listen to this record, the more the songs sound the same and blend together.

For now, breathe slow

Hear my voice, don’t go

We’ll stay here a while