MAKING MARKS
A Thousand Half-Truths
3rd February 2013
LP / CD / DL

Making Marks’ debut album A Thousand Half-Truths is a collection of heartwarming pop songs, touched with Scandinavian cool. Blending sweet male and female vocals with a lush soundscape filled with jangling guitars, buoyant drumming and textured synth lines, the Norwegian quartet have a real knack for melody and a keen ear for rich instrumentation.

Making Marks formed in Oslo in 2012 and are made up of Ola Innset on guitar and vocals, Nina Bø on vocals and keyboards, Marie Sneve on bass and Jørgen Nordby on drums. They’ve gigged with the likes of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Asobi Seksu, Allo Darlin’ and Marit Larsen, and have toured extensively around Europe and the USA, including appearances at SXSW.

They recorded a number of tracks for the album at Soup Studios in London, with Simon Trought and Giles Barrett. It was their influence that saw Paul Rains from Allo Darlin' playing lap steel on the song “Barcodes” and this led to Making Marks supporting Allo Darlin’ in Europe. The rest of the album is recorded in Oslo with respected indie producer Sjur Lyseid, who has worked with the band in various guises over the years.

A Thousand Half-Truths as an album is one of tensions – both resolved and unresolved. Making Marks initially planned to go down a folk/country musical path, however they soon realised that indie came more naturally to them. Yet, the tension between the country and the pop still remained, with folky melodies echoing the extended harmonies of The Carpenters, whilst their propensity for banjos, ukuleles and harmonicas faded away to leave the band sounding more integral and functional. This left them with a set of quietly confident, melancholy country songs as played by an bubbly indiepop band.

There is also tension between the lyrics and soundscape as well as between the warm, dreamy, more life-affirming songs such as "Lemon Sheets”,“Flying High Forever" and "Forgive and Forget"; and the political, critical and often pessimistic approach of "Like Spinning", "A Thousand Half-Truths", Barcodes" and "Ticket Machine".

If you do the sums, A Thousand Half-Truths equals five-hundred full truths. Yet songs are just songs – they can tell you something about life but just a glimpse at a time, revealing only half-truths but in the end perhaps that’s all we need.

Making Marks - Barcodes

From As Eli, released March 2, 2017. Produced by Paul Antonell, written by and featuring Elias Krell on guitar and vocals. Also featuring Karl Allweier on lead and bass guitars and Manuel Quintana on percussion. This song was written as an homage to Lucinda Williams, one of my songwriting heroes.

Same Old Song

Born in Germany and living in Europe and Latin America til the age of 9, Eli was haunted by the the sounds of folk music heard on the streets, in particular accordion and crank organ. Emigrating to the States in 1989, Eli fell for a string of contemporary alt-folk U.S. female singer songwriters, and then again for female jazz and blues vocalists of the 30's, 40's, and 50's. This new record is Eli's first full-length attempt to explore a through-line between these genres: Namely, harmonic and tempo progressions that surprise the ear, and an earnestness tempered by a wit and witticism that insure the songs never take themselves too seriously.

Averay

If Elvis and Suzanne Vega had a baby mermaid. Whimsical indie pop. Based in the Hudson Valley, NY. https://songwhip.com/heninthefoxhouse

Averay

Hen in the Foxhouse

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