Man Man. This band is the definition of amazing. They are like Cheese-cake with some odd spices sprinkled on top (in a good way). They are an experimental band, straight out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They opened for Modest Mouse in 2007 during a few U.S tours. They also had a couple of their songs played on the famous Showtime TV show, Weeds. During Season 3, Episode 8, “Feathers,” and “Engrish Bwudd,” were played, and they covered the intro, ”Little Boxes,” during that Episode also.
I love all of the different styles that they use in their music. Honus Honus (Ryan Kattner), the lead singer and pianist, adds his magnificent voice and waltz piano techniques that gives Man Man its unique sound. Other members of the band, Pow Pow (Christoper Powell), Chang Wang (Jamey Robinson), Turkey Moth (Billy Dufala), and Jefferson, play a very wide variety of instruments: clavinet,Moog little phatty (which sounds weird but is just a keyboard synthesizer),sousaphone,saxophone,trumpet,French horn,flute,bass clarinet,Drum set,euphonium,bass, baritone guitar,xylophone,marimba,melodica, and an assortment of percussive instruments.
Fee-fi-fo-fum. You may know this line from a historic quatrain, maybe from the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk? Anyway, Man Man made a song, “Engrish Bwudd,” that used that line. This song is, actually, one of my favorites, mainly because of the use of a minor waltz that gave it the dark sound and intensity. This song is off of their second album, Six Demon Bag. which was released in 2006.
From their most recent album, Life Fantastic, released with Anti records in 2011, Man Man did an amazing job with the songs. Some of my favorites, from this album, being “Knuckle Down,” “spooky jookie,” and “Oh, La Brea.”
I must say though, Man Man is one of the most original bands I’ve ever heard. I would definitely recommend them to anyone, and I’m sure that anyone can like them.
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