ATTACK OF THE GREY LANTERN

Great to see Mansun included in progarchives. I've been listening to them quite a lot recently and this album is top of my personal playlist. I just wonder how many bands would even consider doing something as ambitious as this on a first release? Probably very few. Track 1 'The Chad Who Loved Me' opens with a sweeping orchestral intro which reminds me of classic John Barry scores for the Bond films.The drums and bass join in before the guitar and vocals take over.Feels like you are in a dream as the strings take over and then finishes with some strange animal noises and what sounds like kids playing. Weird stuff as is much of this album. 'Mansuns Only Love Song' although containing some nice melody and vocal harmonies is not really a love song so this is a bit of a misnomer! The in-jokey nature of the title is typical of the album. 'Taxloss' is probably the best remembered of all Mansuns tracks.A very obvious Beatles pastiche recalling 'Tomorrow never knows' but with Mansun's weird sense of humour.Later destined to become a favourite of their live shows. The acoustic guitar intro on 'You,who do you hate?' wouldn't be out of place on a Pink Floyd album before the song takes a bit of a darker twist. I love this track to bits.The vocals and powerfull drumming stand out. Word War 2 air raid sirens help to add atmosphere. The track that introduced me to Mansun was 'Wide Open Space' and is still a personal favourite.The guitar and keyboards in the middle of the song are fantastic. This just works totally.See the video (UK version) and be very scared! 'Stripper Vicar' (another great song title) injects a bit of humour just at the right time.Good bright and breazy tune.''When a vicar strips he gets away with it!'' 'Disgusting' is another dark dreamy song like the opening track.Another good un that keeps the ball rolling. 'She makes my nose bleed' sees more orchestration and vies with '..Space' and 'Taxloss' for the best song on the album.Production is spot on and everything perfectly in place. 'Naked Twister' (do Mansun have ordinary song titles? ..answer NO) is pretty ordinary Indie stuff. Its around this time the album starts to run out of steam. 'Egg Shaped Fred' and 'Dark Mavis' are okay but don't really take the music anywhere.Nevertheless the first 8 songs make this a very worthwhile debut effort.