Dreaming Hunting In The Valley Of The In-Between

After a particularly unhinged early phase, experimental genre-bending indie group Man Man showed slights signs of mellowing. Led by wild-eyed songwriter/singer/instrumentalist Honus Honus, the band yowled and hooted through their early albums with a feral energy borrowed from Captain Beefheart and then embellished with cabaret theatrics. There are still hints of that early wildness on sixth album Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between, but Man Man funnel their ferociousness into far more accessible pop forms here. This isnt a completely new direction. Honus and crew have been cleaning their act up incrementally since 2011s Life Fantastic, and in the time between Man Man albums Honus even made a solo record of childrens music. The songs are served well by more polished production, tunes like On the Mend and album standout Future Peg molding the bands unbridled energy into pop structures that would sit well on commercial FM rock radio play lists. The melodies are clear and neatly presented without neutering the groups signature chaos or adventurous arrangements. Man Mans genre-flipping essence is still apparent in the slinky cabaret groove of Goat or the loungy jazz touches of Unsweet Meat. Even the explosive noisy introduction of Cloud Nein fades into a feel-good piano pop tune thats catchier than anything the band have ever done before. Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between continues the turn towards hooks that Man Man began exploring years ago, and like those earlier records it retains the bands spirit while embracing more accessible songwriting. Even with the more tuneful tracks, the album has enough bizarre lyrical imagery, unexpected outbursts, and general freakiness to keep Man Man from losing the weirdness they built their sound on. ~ Fred Thomas

2003年に結成されたフィラデルフィア発のエクスペリメンタル・ロック・バンドによる7年ぶり6枚目の新作。リード・シンガーのホーナス・ホーナスによるピアノを軸に、ホーンやクラリネット、ドラムなど多種多様な楽器によるリズムとメロディーで構築されたサウンドはユニーク度200%。例えるならキャプテン・ビーフハートとアニマル・コレクティヴが出会い、祝福のマリンバを奏でているといったところか?
bounce (C)柴田かずえ