A model performance

Make Model

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Review

Make Model - Cabaret Voltaire

With 2008 lurking around the corner, a sizeable Caberet Voltaire crowd acquaints itself with one of the many bands tipped to break into the mainstream next year, if there still exists a mainstream in this Myspace-governed musical landscape.

It is immediately apparent with opener 'The LSB' which particular records have been playing on Make Model’s childhood stereo: the dual male/female vocals call to mind The Pixies' finest pop classics, as their front woman shrieks like a siren, occasionally not quite hitting the right notes – much like Kim Deal in her prime – adding to the slightly flawed magnificence of a thunderously-executed set.

It is hard, with the many members and multi-tiered vocals, not to fling Arcade Fire comparisons at them but Make Model do, to an extent, court the analogy: their set is full of danceable tunes and lyrics that are far from doom-laden. Very unusual time signatures allude to Roxy Music, whose influence is obvious in their very name (see the Roxy LP 'Remake/Remodel'). And yet, keeping heads bobbing and knees knocking for a good three-quarters of an hour, the powerfully metronomic drums and melodic twin guitar hooks also seem to recall both the jangle-pop of Teenage Fanclub and American drive-time rock. The set highlight, ‘Glasgow Number One,’ features charming maracas and sombre melodica, and their musicality effervesces greatly.

Positive energy radiates from the band, and the sing-a-longs on 'Tea Song' and new single 'The Was' are the right side of twee. One cannot underestimate the anomalous nature of Make Model in the modern mainstream and, as long as they are well-exposed, they are could prove to be a festival staple for years to come.

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