MakeBelieve is back. The band from Groningen has undergone three intensive years of selfimposed exile to create a new album. An album that proves once and for all that MakeBelieve
are anything but one hit wonders. The sound is just as poppy and catchy and as exciting and
high octane as it ever was: yet the songs are now more diverse and the music is more layered.
Excuse the term, but MakeBelieve has come of age.
A founding father and the band’s lead singer Joey Dussel (26): “We were making music that
was hip, and we were pretty good at it, but at some point it became clear that we didn’t want
to make that kind of music any more. So we took all the time we needed to discover what we
really wanted to do. You have to believe 100% in the music that you make.”
If you listen to a song like Follow, it sounds like an international hit right from the first few
bars. There’s nothing run of the mill about it. And yet, it still sounds a little familiar. You want
to play it again. And again. This is what the songs of MakeBelieve do to you: they get into
your head and stay there the rest of the day. They sound warm and big and give you energy
and hope. The sound is more electronic than it used to be, and the tracks are surprisingly
danceable. This is less surprising when you take into account that MakeBelieve has been
working in the studio with top producers: people who have written hits for Adele, Miley
Cyrus, Katy Perry and Manic Street Preachers, and many others.
Cry Like Wolves is, according to Marvin Fockens (guitar and backing vocals), a song that is
representative of the entire album. Alongside the collaborations with other writers, the band
has worked on its own, fired up by the inspiration and hunger that the producers gave them.
Cry Like Wolves sounds huge and epic, just like Follow. Perfect for getting a festival crowd
on its feet. Or to sing along to at the top of your voice in a traffic jam. Or just to dance around
the living room to. “That sort of reaction would be great.” says Marvin Fockens. “We wrote
this song around the feeling that we wanted to present to the world: We’re up for it, and we’re
giving it our best shot.”
Joey is also impatient to share the band’s great adventure with the audience. He started the
band nine years ago with the conviction that there was no reason why indie rock shouldn’t be
poppy and catchy. This didn’t go unnoticed. MakeBelieve played Paradiso, Lowlands, Sziget,
Eurosonic and Noorderslag, as well as the Heineken Music Hall supporting 30 Seconds to
Mars. In no time they achieved things that most bands can only dream of. A host of fans as
well as critical aclaim. But Joey says: “Of course I’m proud of what we’ve achieved. But
when I listen to what we’re doing now it’s so much better than back then. There’s no
comparison, really. Some members have left the band. That hasn’t been easy, and we wrote
Bittersweet about the painful parting of the ways with our drummer. It’s a song about
splitting up, but it’s even more about being thankful for what you’ve experienced together and
about the will to go on. Breaking up is painful, but thankfully we have got fantastic musicians
in return who are just as dedicated as the rest of the band. We have become really close during
the last few years. I’m very pleased about that.”
The guys stuck with it. There were times when they missed their fans, but didn’t feel that the
new material was quite strong enough. The new album Matter of Time was sweated over
from student lodgings to rehearsal rooms and large studios at home and abroad. The album
title refers to the length of time that the album took to make, as well as the undying sense of
hope that characterizes the band. Things turn out well in the end. Proof of this is the album’s
difficult inception that was swiftly followed by Warner Music’s decision, on hearing the new
tracks, to sign a Dutch band for the first time in many years. You can easily understand why
when you hear the international sound and calibre of this album. This band could easily
become very big indeed. It’s just a Matter of Time….