Friday, June 29, 2018

Manes : " Slow Motion Death Sequence"




This album finds the band going further in a direction that is more electronic than metal. I like the vocals right from the jump. They are moody and the female vocals remind me of Bjork. While this might not be metal, there are rock elements to this song with distorted power chords creating a driving pulse. The male vocals continue to get weirder on "Scion" . In some ways it reminds me of Peter Gabriel. I like how this song cruises along in a very smooth futuristic manner. "Chemical Heritage" is darker and a little more dramatic. The electronics are moving this one more than guitars. The drums give it a little more rock kick. Everything eventually converges into more of a solid groove.

They take "Therapism" into a really weird and wonderful direction, it has pretty much anything I could ask for from these guys. "Last Resort" takes a more tender approach, feeling more psychedelic than a ballad, the vocals go up into more of a falsetto. The guitar explores Pink Floyd like places. "Poison Enough For Everyone" returns to the darker more dramatic rock style that largely dominates this album. "Building the Ship of Theseus" is the first song that doesn't connect with me as solidly as the rest of the album has up to this point. There is nothing wrong with it, to my ears the focus is not as unique or crystal clear.

"Night Vision" finds the electronic atmosphere coming on much thicker. The soulful head placement of the vocals remind me of the band Satchel from the 90s. The vocals become even more androgynous, ok more feminine with the lilted falsetto of " Ater". The beat to this one drones in a more acid jazz manner before the guitars come in. I'll round this album up to a 10, I guess I'll see how long this stays in rotation, but I have a feeling some of the weirder moments would only grow on me over time. The dark coat draped over this album is great.


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