The Make-Up

Alternative

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Top Songs By The Make-Up

I Am PentagonThe Make-Up

Listen to They Live By Night by The Make-Up, see lyrics, music video & more!

They Live By NightThe Make-Up

Listen to Joy of Sound by The Make-Up, see lyrics, music video & more!

Joy of SoundThe Make-Up

Listen to You + I vs. the World by The Make-Up, see lyrics, music video & more!

You + I vs. the WorldThe Make-Up

Save YourselfThe Make-Up

Listen to Here Comes the Judge by The Make-Up, see lyrics, music video & more!

Here Comes the JudgeThe Make-Up

I Want SomeThe Make-Up

Blue is BeautifulThe Make-Up

The ProphetThe Make-Up

Call Me MommyThe Make-Up

More albums from The Make-Up

Listen to Untouchable Sound - Live! by The Make-Up

ALBUMUntouchable Sound - Live!The Make-Up

ALBUMSave YourselfThe Make-Up

ALBUMIn Mass MindThe Make-Up

ALBUMSound VeriteThe Make-Up

Listen to Destination: Love – Live! at Cold Rice by The Make-Up

ALBUMDestination: Love – Live! at Cold RiceThe Make-Up

Artist Playlists

The Make-Up Essentials

Save yourself with the gospel yeh-yeh.

About The Make-Up

Genre

Alternative

Making direct overtures to early gospel, soul, and R&B recordings, sharp-dressed ensemble The Make-Up stood out from the indie-rock pack in a big way in the mid-’90s. Formed in Washington, D.C. in 1995 by members of influential punk bands Nation of Ulysses and The Frumpies, The Make-Up locked into intense rhythmic workouts set against the sermon-like screeds of singer Ian Svenonius, whose lascivious falsetto and frantic screams borrowed equally from James Brown and The MC5’s Rob Tyner. So potent were the band on stage that they designed their debut album, 1996’s Destination: Love – Live! at Cold Rice, as a faux live album to replicate the concert experience. After The Make-Up finished in 2000, Svenonius went on to juggle many subsequent acts, including Weird War, Chain & The Gang, and Escape-ism, all while deepening his indie-intellectual reputation by working widely as a writer, DJ, and talk-show host.