• Similar to “Fool Me” but a bit more pleasant than that
• Subtle but spot on characteristics
• Addicting, memorable and intense
I think “Make Believe” has a massive Rocket League vibe which is equivalent to Rachel’s debut track on Monstercat, “Fool Me“, released in 2023. Both are more of the same but are still different in some ways. Also, there are quite a lot of enhancements and minute details in this song that I can’t wait to briefly talk about below.
Firstly, the most obvious amplification in this song would be the huge sidechain effect in the drops. In fact, this is done alongside the “donk” sound, the vocal chops, and the bass’ increasing harmonics using a fair bit of saturation or distortion. All of them, placed half a beat apart from one another, make the rhythm as clean as possible. Despite sharing a similar drop, the stronger ducking gives a tighter and more balanced groove.
Moreover, it’s a plus to have a contrast in the drops. To exemplify, the things in the aggressive as well as the melodic drops, which are the rhythmic beats and vocal chops as well as the soft lead, uplift the respective parts. As usual, it’s frankly amazing to see a small switch-up like this.
As expected from her, there are also subtle but spot-on flairs. To illustrate, the stretched-out vocals that say “hurts” after the drops, which swing left and right while slowing down over time thanks to low frequency oscillators (LFOs), show that it is similar to someone talking while they are melting away emotionally due to one’s problems. Fittingly, it sets the tone ahead. The lyrics in the midsections mainly address trust issues with other people and hint at verbal bullying in the ever-changing world. Thus, the problems, which are connected in this emotional song, make the statement relevant and contextual.
In short, this is a better song I have heard from Rachel with the “less is more” method. Importantly, it is so addicting that it grips my attention so quickly like most of her tracks do. This, however, has more good qualities and is much more memorable than some of her past tracks. And so, I love this slightly more.