MS07- The Mayonnaise $4
This 1997 recording is exemplary of the MAKESHIFT vibe, with its numerous approaches in sound creation, recording techniques, moods, and ideas. Moods include dreaminess, eeriness, violence, madness. Surreal and trashy, yet calculated & composed art music created by fertile teenage minds in a small town where imagining what experimental music created on a 4 track cassette recorder would sound like brings such things into existence.
MS10- The air conditioners $4
The sequel to the mayonnaise. More experimental, perhaps… more yelling than on the Mayonnaise tape; more variations in sounds and effects and ideas. A semi-loose piling of instrumental mood-swinging madness. Some being very pretty-type songs with ambient leanings, some being extremely noisy wackiness, some being quasi-unnerving scariness, wordless expression singing, some being moderately humorous goof-isms, and some exercises in mood self-contradiction. Air conditioners tape is ok. Dog thinks so.
MS13- Light Bulbs – ‘Macrocephalics’ $4
Schizophrenic array of colors in sound. This is the second installment of Light Bulbs music. “macrocephaly” is a condition where the human head grows constantly. The first side of the tape is a well-fitting continuance of its predecessor’s ideology. A large variance of ideas, as usual with the MAKESHIFT creators. There’s a guy screaming into a barrel, there’s a weird french girl screaming about her dog, there’s big funky drums, there’s noisified spazzings, there’s piano, there’s wackjob nastyness, there’s an electricity buzz-o-rama, there’s sad pretties, and there’s a spoken word guy with a soda can slamming around too. That’s just the first side though; the other side has drawn-out meditation ghoulash. “Advancing macrocephaly” is 18 minutes length of music which, though done a few years before any of the members had heard the music of Glenn Branca, sounds maybe somewhat similar to some of his music. There are 3 other elongated quasi-ambient music segments comprising side 2. They taper off and waver through different feelings of isolation. More surprising levels of creative quality from the adolescent MAKESHIFT minds.
MS16- Light Bulbs $4
Variation of experimentations from acoustic sweetyness, warm piano, noisy and non-noisy art-guitar, polyrhythmic drum overdubs, to a little man yelling “michael!!” from under a toadstool surf.
MS19- Kinetic Dog Hallucinations DL
A collection of Makeshift’s first 4 years, highlighting some of the standouts. Sound collages, relaxing tunes, and psychotic, rhythmic beauty.
MS23- Shivers $4
This music invokes an introspective mellowness. This ambience is partly created by the deliberate absence of electric instruments; a self-imposed challenge to the creator. Acoustic guitar, a very old zither, bells, broken cymbals, trash bags full of crushed cans, and a few other primitive random percussion items are the materials used. There is a fairly large variety of approach between the different pieces, but the recording has a consistent quiet/eerie/somber mood throughout. Fabulously colorful arrangements. Warm and inviting.
MS24- Meadows $4
Instrumental music designed as soothing background music to help time flow warmly, but was received by friends as being more engaging than mere background. It can likely function either way depending on mood and mindset. Trickly guitar lakes, stretchy reverb, carefully planned drum kit/percussion, a monster groan repeating infinitely, and dripping melted aluminum. Ambient guitar textures designed with alluring percussion patterns and other comforting moody spicing. Earthy comfort moods for reflection and thoughts.
MS26- Light Bulbs – ‘Yum Walbs’ $4
Another instrumental delight from the light bulbs. Tidy instrumentals. High mellowness content. Cello, piano, pseudo-jazz, pseudo non jazz, and happiness. Unique, evocative, and quirky. The usual for a Light Bulbs release, with a decidedly sleepy and contemplative slant.