MAN MAN

While Honus Honus' vocals do remind me of a more energetic Tom Waits and the music even has a vibe similar to his "Rain Dogs" era, the mix of Eastern European gypsy music and downright zaniness does lend the comparisons to Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart to be valid, although the music itself sounds nothing like those respective artists, the experimental factor and the humor do put them in the same neighborhood. This band was a grower. I started out with the later albums with "Life Fantastic" being my first which i thought was hit and miss but on the first couple of albums i find i really dig the MAN MAN sound where they were less restrained and just unfurled their freaky flag to the world not giving a golly gee about much else than fulfilling their musical vision.

On their debut album THE MAN IN A BLUE TURBAN WITH A FACE you can expect a nice mix of gypsy swing jazz, Tom Waits inspired vocals and feel with marimbas, horn section, guitars, flute and a bunch of different guests including two female vocalists, violins, clarinets and various other unidentified noises. You can also expect a passionate vocal delivery often entering the insanity zone but mostly this is a nice melodic upbeat avant-garde swing fest that is instantly addictive but has a few elements that may give the first time listener pause. For me it took me a while to warm up to Honus Honus' vocals, but the music is so addictive that ultimately i succumbed! Almost all the tracks on this album are fairly well constructed with a few coming off as a bit mediocre ("Gold Teeth") and the last couple "Man Who Make You Sick" and "Werewolf (On The Hood Of Yer Heartbreak)" really raising the bar. I would say the album ends stronger than it begins but after a few listens it pretty much all gets under your skin. Excellent! Check em out

Ryan Kattner's rough, versatile voice lends itself incredibly well to the band's music. He can take on any voice role, jumping between traditional singing and high-pitched screaming on a dime, and anything else in between. His piano playing is also very well-implemented, as he plays away with eccentric gusto with the rest of the band members backing him up with virtually every sound imaginable. At one point during one of the goofier (and most enjoyable!) songs, ''Big Trouble'', they simply dropped a bunch of random household items and used that noise as percussion. After watching video footage of the band in the studio making the record, these moments are even more special to me, since it;s clear they simply want to make music with any unconventional means they can think of.

But as mentioned earlier; aside from all the random noises and nutty vocal styles, there is plenty of actual music on Rabbit Habits to enjoy. The songwriting may be wacky and seemingly disjointed at first, but like all great Avant-Garde Rock groups, the genius of the compositions will reveal themselves over time. It just happens that with Man Man's music, you can still enjoy yourself immensely right from the start, even if you don't quite understand what you're hearing.

The best tracks on Rabbit Habits for me are ''Hurly/Burly'', ''Big Trouble'', ''Doo Right'', ''Easy Eats or Dirty Doctor Galapagos'', ''Harpoon Fever (Queequeg's Playhouse)'' (who's opening piano reminds me of ''That Old Black Magic'', and who's initial guitar strumming is reminiscent of ''Wipeout''. What a combination), ''Rabbit Habits'' (A Beatles-esque piano ballad of sorts), ''Top Drawer'', ''Poor Jackie'' (the most beautiful, complex song on the record), and ''Whalebones'' (a wonderful Folk-meets-Jazz ballad featuring a banjo and saxophone). Oh, that's just about all the songs on the album? I see. Well, it's really hard to dislike ANY part of this album, as far as I am concerned, and this record really has no low points.

The musical genres are always rotating between Ragtime piano, Avant-Garde Rock, Jazz, Electronic, 'VIdeo Game' music, and many others. This constant change -up of styles means that you can't possibly get bored of this album, and you might just find yourself humming some of the melodies, despite how unconventional they might be. Man Man have managed to compose a work that infects the listener with its music in the same way the more common Pop song can, yet without sacrificing their unique artistic expression. So how can such an unusual album linger within us for so long? I guess that means these guys can right some damn good music-- conventional or not.

If you haven't heard of Man Man before, or aren't sure if you'd like their music or not, I implore you to dive right in. Especially if you are a Zappa fan (for the sense of humor) or a frequent listener of Samls Mammas Manna (for the musical style), but even if you're not, I think you'd be pretty hard pressed not to like what you hear. There is just something about Man Man's music (and this album in particular) that grabs hold of you and refuses to let go. As immediately accessible as a Pop song, yet as artistically diverse and abstract as a Picasso painting, Rabbit Habits is one musical ride you can't afford to miss. But of course, that's just my oh-so- humble opinion.

I'm not sure how to rate this, 4.5, I guess. I doubt it has the same exact qualities as the most iconic Prog albums out there, yet at the same time, to not call this work progressive or forward-thinking in its attitude would be doing the band's work and incredible injustice. Yet, I need to keep my ratings as realistic and balanced as possible, so I need to take my personal love for this record out of the equation and rate it on its own merits. So 4.5 stars is the closest I can get to calling it a flawless masterpiece (which, on a personal level, I believe to be the case).

In any case, you must give these guys a listen. Music this diverse and interesting deserves to be heard by everybody, and in my opinion also deserves a place on every music enthusiast's shelf.

Very happy listening.