Review Summary: Ken Andrews makes radio rock on his second solo release.
Failure influenced me more than any other rock band in the formative stages of my musical development. I will forever hold that band in a special place in my heart, and they have just reunited, so I've been revisiting their entire back catalog, including all of their post-Failure work. 'Shifting Skin', Ken's first solo album as ON, was actually a decent record - it saw him exploring a new electronic sound, and while the lyrical quality took a hit, the production and some good songwriting made the record at least listenable. Unfortunately, his independently released second solo album, 'Make Believe', took all the worst tendencies of the first and magnified them (no pun intended).
First, the good: 'Pure Distraction' is a good pop song with a nice dark vibe. The Police cover is solid and great fun, slower than the original but still groovy, and the Theme Song is also a good track (perhaps thanks to the lack of lyrics). The production here is perfectly competent and sounds quite polished for an independent release, despite not being as stylistically distinctive as any of his previous releases.
Now, for the bad: The record mostly consists of very bland radio rock which isn't particularly distinctive or memorable. I'm not sure of Ken's motivation for the stylistic change here, as this was an independent release which wasn't heavily promoted, so it doesn't seem like he was aiming for fame. But musical blandness alone would merely make the record forgettable - it's the lyrics which take it over the edge.
I always considered Ken a great lyricist on the early Failure releases, but all 3 of his solo releases have relationship-oriented pop lyrics which are downright cringeworthy. While Ken has always seemed detached from what he's singing about (and that became part of Failure's appeal), that approach just doesn't work with songs about love & lust. He simply isn't as skilled at writing in this style, as his unique lyrical voice completely disappears, replaced by a poor take on cliches. In that regard, this record is the worst of the bunch, with the embarrasing and problematic 'Octopus' being the prime example:
"You know I'd like to get you drunk
I'd make you smell my ocean funk
I'd get you nice and liquored up
Before I build your buttercup.
I get down like an octopus."
Not only are those lyrics objectively terrible, but they are also promoting rape. Now, Ken's lyrics have always been twisted, and this isn't the first time they have dealt with rape, pedophelia, or sexual exploitation - see 'Princess', 'Let it Drip', 'Undone', or the Edwards-penned 'Magnified' - but those tracks were subtle and were meant to be disturbing, rather than promoting anything they described, and they were also layered with other meanings. 'Octopus' is practically a celebration of taking advantage of a woman while drunk, and it is deeply uncomfortable to listen to. Even if the song was meant as a joke, I don't think it can be called a success in any sense.
This album marks the first appearance of Jeff Garber (guitar - National Skyline, Castor) and Tim Dow (drums - Shiner) on a Ken Andrews release. Both members went on to become members of Ken's new band, 'Year of the Rabbit', the same year. Year of the Rabbit's sound falls halfway between that of 'Make Believe' and 'Fantastic Planet', but it ends up being much more appealing than 'Make Believe'. Ken's latest solo release, 'Secrets of the Lost Satellite', is arguably his best pop work yet, but despite the merits of some of Ken's post-Failure material, particularly in the production department, none of it is particularly memorable. I can only hope that if the Failure reunion yields new material, Andrews will rediscover his penchant for evocative lyrics and musical dissonance.
