Man Man is the most original band out right now. There, I said it, and I stand by it. No other band today plays the brand of music Man Man plays. I mulled the question around in my head a lot about the possible genre Man Man might fall under, and I was forced to level it down to gypsy punk or saloon psych. I think I might coin both of those genre titles after this review. I guess the best way to describe Man Man is through an analogy. Think Frank Zappa in a Wild West-era bar playing with a bunch of homeless hippies who have gotten a hold of an assortment of obscure thrift store instruments and have a knack for creating off beat catchy pop songs. If that didn't give you a clue of how they might sound then you might just have to resort to giving them a listen for yourself.
Man Man's last album, The Man in a Blue Turban with a Face was a great debut, but for me it was more of great potential and left much to be desired. It was an excellent display of their style and creativity, but it was slightly impetuous in its musical execution. Two years later their newest album, Six Demon Bag, was one of my most anticipated releases this year but it unfortunately didn't fully meet my unrealistic expectations. Despite that, it still is a fine album in its own right. I guess the problems of the first album are once again apparent on this one: a few really great songs and a bunch of okay ones.
The album begins with the welcoming piano ballad "Feathers" - a song that demonstrates their originality and ability to create a great song with only piano and the husky vocals of vocalist Honus Honus. The next song "Engwish Bwudd" is a strange tune; its chorus features high, childlike vocals quoting the Jack and the Beanstock line "Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman" - strange indeed. Unfortunately, the song's originality doesn't make up for the fact that the song isn't that endearing or catchy and therefore makes it pretty forgettable. This seems to be the plague that a few of the other tracks on this album face. However the next track "Banana Ghost" is Man Man at their finest: upbeat, catchy, and unparalleled originality. The other great highlight track is "Black Mission Goggles" that uses an upbeat groove and progresses with wailing vocals followed by the high pitched harmonizing of what sounds like little children. The other highlight on the CD is "Van Helsing Boombox," which is their most melodic effort on the album and really hones their talents and condenses all of their ambition, originality, and off kilter style into a cohesive representation of what can be achieved by this great band.
In all honesty, Man Man cannot be described, but rather only experienced. I could try to narrow it down to a genre or adjective but it wouldn't do the band justice. Despite its falter to create the perfect album filled with perfect songs accurately representing their skill as a band, they did succeed in creating some of the most original and enriching songs in music today. On second thought, the best adjective to describe Man Man would be grawesome. It's great, its raw, and its awesome - and I'm coining this word now.
