Makeup – All My Friends Are High (2023)
For approximately four years, singer-songwriter Makeup has been entertaining audiences with his enthusiastic, energetic and entrancing music. From Indie Central Music to The Other Side Reviews (that’s us by the way), the UK-based artist is painting sonic artwork with his kaleidoscopic palette of sound. The brainchild of Matt S. Davies, Makeup has a genre-bending style inspired by the likes of Nina Simone, Queen, David Bowie and My Chemical Romance. The latest addition to his discography is the single ‘All My Friends Are High’.
After a year-long break from the music scene, ‘All My Friends Are High’ is Makeup’s first release since 2021’s ‘Monsters’. Taking a leap from his previous material, the new single presents a honing, sophistication and evolution in Makeup’s sound. It’s true that the power of Freddie Mercury is still heard in the lad’s voice as Makeup effortlessly traverses several octaves; however, there is more vulnerability and fragility slithering through the rock melody reminiscent of emo-rock artists like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Brand New.
A collaboration with guitarist The Lilac Hour, we hear hard-hitting guitar riffs carry the pounding drums across the song’s melody. While guitar-driven with The Lilac Hour showcases his natural talent as a guitarist, it is Makeup’s vulnerability and versatility as an artist that enhances the obscurity of ‘All My Friends Are High’. One element I love about Makeup, and particularly ‘All My Friends Are High’, is how he leans toward old-school rock sounds while retaining a contemporary balance in the track.
So, what is ‘All My Friends Are High’ all about? It’s about adulting – a term that you do not really understand until you get to the point of being an adult. As a Millennial, or rather on the cusp of Millennial and Gen X, I was raised with the stereotypical idea of growing up, buying a house, finding a job I love, having a family, and all those other adult things. What I did not realise is those milestones that seemed so final are a complete façade. Makeup explores the confusion, vulnerability and fragility we feel when learning that the rules of adulting are not finite; in fact, they are so grey it’s a whiplash slap in the face when you discover the guideline is there but as a mere whimsy in reality. And people said adulting would be easy…
Hard-hitting, powerful, bold and brazen, but with a soothing charm and delicate intimacy, Makeup touches on human fragility in his single ‘All My Friends Are High’.
For more from Makeup, check out his Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
