| CD REVIEW Man Man |
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Band : Man Man I first came in contact with this wacky 5-piece outfit with their previous Anti- album Rabbit Habbits, a review for which was posted 16/04/2008 (I ended that review before going off to the record store, where I was regrettably unable to find anything by the band prior to Rabbit Habbits, but as a consolation I was able to get myself a vinyl version of the latter). Touring for that album in the US (with Yeasayer and Tim Fite splitting dates) had actually already begun in March, and would be continued throughout the year to see the band play at such important events as Voodoo Experience, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival as well as the UK's All Tomorrow's Party, Barcelona's Primavera Sound, and Australia's Meredith Music Festival. Around the same time the life of the band's main man Honus Honus (known in ordinary life as Ryan Kattner) had gotten to be such a cacaphony with heartbreak, the tragic deaths of several friends piling up, and the IRS going after his ass for incredibly large sums...that he started wondering whether music was still worth all the hardship. In the past, he'd been able to convert all the troubles into the positive outlet of music, but this time he found himself feeling nothing at all...which was definitely worse than feeling miserable or depressed. He eventually decided to put his meager belongings into storage, filled a suitcase worth of clothing and left his Philadelphia homestead for some traveling. This took him to Los Angeles, Austin, Portland, and wherever else a friend had a couch, floor space, and patience to spare. It would take Kattner several months to find himself again in the pieces that had become his life, and before he could funnel those events into the songs he would be writing, using the lyrics as a cathartic healing process. That some real heavy things were dealt with is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that, after Honus sent his father a demo of the song “Dark Arts”, his dad called him afterward, just to hear his voice, make sure he was on the level. It didn't come easy though, and the writing process took a little over a year in total. Of course part of that has to do with each of the band's members (by the way...found out their real names: Pow Pow's real name is Cristopher Powell, “T. Moth” is named Jamey Robinson in real life, Chang Wang goes by the name of Billy Dufala, and Russel Higbee is the person hiding behind the surname of Jefferson) being perfectionists, rehearsing and adapting each song until everyone is happy with it. Eventually, Man Man also recorded with a proper producer for the first time in their history. And even though the songs were fully formed by the time the band went into the studio, Mike Mogis (member of Bright Eyes, also responsible for “...the widescreen backdrops of nearly every major Saddle Creek release...”) still had the liberty to direct the band somewhat in those places where he felt they were going over the top, bringing beauty out from the chaos the quintet had created. He also fulfilled any random requests the band had (a gang chorus here, a childlike melody there, even some field recordings) and had his bandmate Nate Walcott add some real nice string arrangements in quite a few of the songs. Unavoidably, this brings a somewhat “mainstream” feel to the whole, but one would be deceiving oneself by thinking the “order ab chaos” which is so characteristic for the band, has been in any way subdued. In fact, one only needs to listen to the two songs off the new album the band posted at (www.) myspace.com/wearemanman to understand that such a statement would be completely out of place! However, if anyone were to tell me after a first listen of the album that it seems to have a “constant feeling” throughout, I guess I would have to agree. In fact, it would say it'll even take “more experienced” listeners, myself included, several sessions with the disc before they can distill their favourite songs out of the 11 displayed on the album. Nevertheless, the local record store can expect a visit from me soon enough...to order the vinyl version of the album!!! You know what? Life IS fantastic sometimes! 98/100 Tony. |