Operation Makeout - Hang Loose

  by Cara Ross

published: 15 / 11 / 2002

Label: Mint
Format: CD

intro

Enjoyable garage rock from Vancouver-based band signed to Mint Records

Finally a follow-up from Vancouver BC’s Operation Makeout to 2000’s excellent 5 song debut 'First Base'.  Operation Makeout make me feel fifteen again, and I know that in high school this is what I would have been playing over and over again in my bedroom while I jumped up and down on my bed. Okay well, that aside, I must confess to being not much more mature than that these days, and listening to it right now makes me bob my head and type that much faster. The main difference between that EP and this new full length is the incorporation of more of Jesse Gander’s vocals.  What seemed to be strictly additional to Katie Lapi’s vocals on 'First Base' have become more comparable on'Hang Loose', with a lot of tradeoffs between the two vocalists.  Katie’s vocals definitely have a real Corin Tucker quality (Sleater Kinney). Operation Makeout were resultingly often compared to Sleater Kinney on 'First Base'.  It is not the case with 'Hang Loose'. At this point Sleater Kinney would probably be the last band that I would compare these guys to. The heavier bass lines on display on the new recording give them a much more distinctive sound now. Listening to both albums is like actually seeing evolution in progress, as they have obviously become more comfortable with their abilities.  What for me makes Operation Makeout fun, is their inability to stop being “cute”. This is the kind of music that if it was sung by someone like Joey Shithead, (Canada’s incomparable DOA) would sound a lot more threatening, and in reality, a lot more boring.  Operation Makeout  makes the whole pop-punk thing work for them in a much less obvious way.  They’re definitely not very scary punks.  And that’s reality, and that’s fine. The album ends with a remix of 'You and Me Geometry', the opening track from "First Base'  So bastardized is this version from the original that it’s a perfect metaphor for the breaking down of the old Operation Makeout, and the ushering in of the new.  Okay well, that’s just me waxing stupidly, as I’ve never been one for remixes, so I'd be lying if I said I didn’t think it was a really annoying track.  Especially since the original version was so good.  Still, that’s why it’s a remix, and somebody else’s interpretation.  One man’s junk, as they say...There’s no question they are a capable trio, and lyrically have a knack for making it all very catchy.  This album grows on you with every listen, and it’s a nice change from the regular garage punk scene.  It’ll be awhile before they can shake that cute and fun moniker though, but why would you want to? Check ‘em out at http://www.operationmakeout.com ! They are another fine band from Mint Records!

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