The Make Three – You, Me & The Make Three

It’s mid-February and I’m still finding albums from 2023 that missed my radar. One such record is The Make Three’s You, Me & The Make Three. Made up of former members of The Brixton Riot and The Anderson Council (and being from New Jersey), I had a feeling it would resonate with me. And it sure did.

The Make Three are vocalist/guitarist Jerry Lardieri, vocalist/bassist Pete Horvath and drummer Chris Ryan. The way the story goes, Jerry was writing material for his band The Brixton Riot during the pandemic. Having written over 40 songs, he discovered that not all were a good fit for the band. And so, The Make Three was born. For more detail, see Pat Donder’s interview HERE.

First Rate Guitar Pop

Lardieri mentions that thy’ve “sonically referenced” several bands on the new album. For example, “Black Cloud” references Dinosaur Jr. “Sweet Carolina Blue” is Bob Mould. “Parts Unknown”, Chris Bell. And Pete Horvath has mentioned that he feels “Emily Strange” channels The Smithereens. These are not obvious to me. What I DO hear is driving percussive work, emotive vocals, glorious guitar fuzz and hooks a plenty. Its first rate guitar pop. And if I’ve read their bandcamp page correctly, the entire album was recorded over a three day span. As a result, the recoding has a certain urgency or spontaneity. 

My favorite track on the album, “Against The Tide”, is said to have been inspired by New Order. Again, not obvious to me. But having loved New Order back in the day, perhaps I’m subliminally drawn to the track. It’s a terrific one.

Get You, Me & The Make Three

Although you can get the digital product on the aforementioned bandcamp page, the physical CD is available at Kool Kat Musik. Get it HERE.