In retrospect, maybe they were. After Nation of Ulysses flamed out, three of its members -- singer Ian Svenonius (once dubbed "The Sassiest Boy in America" by, uh, Sassy magazine), guitarist-organ player James Canty, and drummer Steve Gamboa -- regrouped, along with ex-Frumpies bassist Michelle Mae, as The Make-Up. And even taking its members' stint in Nation of Ulysses into consideration, and the fact that Canty is the brother of Fugazi's Brendan Canty, The Make-Up has more in common with Washington, D.C.'s go-go band history than the harDCore movement that Svenonius and company grew up in. On its handful of albums -- including 1996's Destination: Love! LIVE! At Cold Rice, 1997's After Dark, and the recent singles collection I Want Some -- the band shies away from guitars for the most part, letting Canty's organ and Mae's bass carry most of the weight. They disappear into the grooves, repeating them until the tape runs out.
But the music is only scenery for Svenonius to chew, doing his best white-boy take on Prince, reinventing him as a preacher testifying to the congregation in his garage. It's most apparent on I Want Some, culled from the group's myriad seven-inch singles and compilation tracks, tracing the band and Svenonius' evolution. You can practically hear him writhing around on the floor as he shrieks through shout-outs to incarcerated Love frontman Arthur Lee ("Free Arthur Lee"), half-hearted apologies ("I Didn't Mean 2 Turn U On"), and gloats about his "Untouchable Sound." However, the Make-Up is at its best when Canty picks up his guitar and coaxes Svenonius back from over the top, such as on "This is...Young Vulgarians." It doesn't happen often enough; occasionally Svenonius comes off more like Screamin' Jay Hawkins than anyone else. Like Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up never quite gets around to washing its shticky fingers, method-acting through every song. They probably won't convert everyone -- fact is, Nation of Ulysses is still the better band. But it's fun to watch them try.