One of the Make-Up's last singles was for the song "Free Arthur Lee." Apparently, at least for once, Ian Svenonius' political goals have been achieved, as Arthur Lee has been unchained and freed. I'm not necessarily refering to Lee the person though. Arthur Lee the person is free and currently on tour, but more importantly, the spirit of Arthur Lee has been unchained within Ian Svenonius.
Weird War, the new band from Svenonius and most of the other Make-Up personnel along with Neil Michael Hagerty, is a 60s post-Invasion garage band. Svenonius struts and whines like he normally does; if you are a true Make-Up and Nation of Ulysses fan, that alone should be enough for you to also be a fan of Weird War.
However, aside from that, there seems to be little left from the original Nation of Ulysses formula to make Weird War enjoyable. The Make-Up at least could rely on sloganeering and Michelle Mae's bass playing to enhance Svenonius' convulsions. In Weird War, the lyrics seem pointless, and Mae seems underused. Instead, we get oodles of sloppy guitarwork from Hagerty.
Sloppy guitarwork is perhaps a valid style choice for a punk and garage-style band, and anything is an improvement of the basically nonexistant guitar sound in the Make-Up. However, if the total package of Weird War is just Svenonius and Hagerty's crappy guitar, it means the concept behind Weird War is lacking. Say what you will about the music of the Make-Up, but the concept was pretty much the perfect vehicle for Svenonius. Weird War is just a jam band.
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