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Man Man
(We featured the following artist last year on SYITP but thought they were so good that we should feature them again. This previous entry has been updated to reflect changes in the last 12 months. And if you missed out the first time around, now is your chance!)
Imagine that Captain Beefheart's demented second cousin meets a warped Tom Waits, a demented Nick Cave, and both go gallavanting with two Franks (Black and Zappa) in the backwoods of Philadelphia and you're pretty close to the dark, deeply strange, but still charming stylings of Man Man. Frontman Honus Honus' voice reminds me of the sputtterings of Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock, full of grunting and yelping set against the joyous chaos of Wolf Parade or Need New Body. The rest of the band joins in with an equally haunting backdrop, whether they're adding chilling, otherworldly screeches, or piercing falsettos, or a deranged wedding song, or the occasional angelic choir composed entirely of first graders' voices.
Man Man act like a jaunty circus orchestra of keyboards and brass instruments, pinned up against a wall of shout-singing, punctuated with very unusual percussion. The band does not hesitate to use any possible object, including, but not limited, to the kitchen sink, as drummable surfaces. Which is not to say that Man Man is overly noisy or pretentious art-rock, though they have a certain art school sensibility about them -- but this is an art school that exists only in the night terrors triggered by reruns of The Twilight Zone.
I get the sense that Man Man took stock of someone's garage or abandoned mansion, filled with dusty rattles, rusty metal fans, broken keyboards, a discarded flute, long forgotten songbooks and somehow made music the only way they knew how: quirky, fascinating, sweaty, strangely sexy, uncomfortably creaky, but still accessible. Freaks of the world, feel not alone, as this band is for you, as the live show is filled with toy instruments, Japanese umbrellas, and animal masks.
The Man Man line-up has changed since The Man In A Blue Turban With A Face, and only frontman Honus Honus remains. The new members have also taken carnie stage names: Sergei Sogay ("brown bass, vibes, caveman throat"), Les Mizzle ("science...color, smooth throat"), Blanco, Alejandro "Cougar" Borg ("marimba, trumpet, snake guitar, manic throat"), and Pow Pow ("sexual trap kit, bedroom eyes, coyote throat, spirit healer"). Something tells me that the previous album is just the beginning for this gang of freaks. The music of Man Man is strongly hypnotic, slowly revealing layer upon layer of intricacies not visible to the naked eye; Six Demon Bag reveals Man Man expanding their musical palate to elements of hip-hop, 60s girl groups (the elegant horns and "Shoo, sh-doo-ba-doo" backing of "Ice Dogs" yielded a double-take on first listen), and easy listening pop (the surprising "Van Helsing Boombox" wouldn't be out of place in a Broadway musical).
Surreal yet still strongly melodic, this is a band to be fascinated by. Man Man draw upon freak folk, the fringes of klezmer, and the twisted undercurrents of underground rock to great effect.
Man Man - Ice Dogs
Man Man - Feathers
Man Man - Skin Tension
Man Man - Van Helsing Boombox
Man Man - Against the Peruvian Monster
Man Man - I, Manface
Man Man's official site. Pre-order Six Demon Bag from Amazon. Buy The Man In A Blue Turban With A Face from Ace Fu, iTunes Music Store, or Amazon.
Posted by Queen of the Front Row at 01.25.06 at 12:15 AM
Comments
i love man man! had not heard of them before i saw them open for okkervil river @ northsix in williamsburg brooklyn last year -- blew me away. terrifically visual, lots of synchronized jumping and instrument switching and such. and honus honus has a big mustache; looks like tony orlando. what more can one ask for?
Posted by: Jim Santo at 01.25.06 at 1:17 PM
Very little, Jim. Very little.
Posted by: Queen of the Front Row at 01.25.06 at 1:24 PM
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