Archive for Friday, April 18, 2008
CD reviews of Man Man
"Rabbit Habits"
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There are a couple of spots on Man Man's "Rabbit Habits" where you can tell how sickeningly fascinating the band's live set must be.
The first one is on "The Ballad of Butter Beans," a frantic odyssey of pattered drums and choppy vocals that is about as far away from a ballad as most bands will ever get, and as close to it as Man Man will ever come. It's a relatively easy entry point to Man Man's twisted Danny-Elfman-with-no-Tim-Burton-to-ground-him world, where grown men are supposed to dance like crazies around a piano and force the rest of us to consider what it would be like to be chased through a jungle by a witch doctor wearing Bermuda shorts.
This is a band that has opened for Modest Mouse, and early fans of that band likely will hear some of the same elements - mostly, in leadman Honus Honus's tortured vocals. And, if you take every trace of sanity out of Modest Mouse and added a scatter band horn section, you might get Man Man. But probably not.
That makes "Rabbit Habits" all kinds of bewitching but doesn't always make it easy to get through. The boys are nice enough to provide a couple of breaks, in Beatles-inspired halftime number "Doo Right," and a hefty serving of walkable bass lines in the second act of "Rabbit Habits."
If you can stand repeated plays, it's worth the trouble. If not, listen to Modest Mouse.
Rating: ''''
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