I've Seen a Way

UKマンチェスターの地下室から産み出されたEP群で、ファンベースと評価がうなぎ登りのエクスペリメンタルニューカマー4人組MANDY, INDIANA。名門FIRETALKよりドロップする待望のデビューフルアルバム『 I'VE SEEN A WAY』で、世界基準レベルの音を誕生させました!

BIG THEIF、BJORK等インディ / オルタナティヴロックの錚々たるアーティストを手掛けてきたエンジニアHEBA KADRYを招いて制作された本作は、バンド拠点である地下室以外にも洞窟、ショッピングセンター(!)と普通では考えられないような場所で録音を決行。 その結果先行曲"INJURY DETAIL"で持ち味だったダークに溢れたエクスペリメンタルサウンドと共に、クラブミュージックへ接近した横ノリを起こすリズムが導入! 且つ"PINKING SHEARS"ではスコーンと耳に飛び込むパーカッションとドラムでリスナーを瞬間沸騰させる!ゲームや映画サントラの影響(FPS視点のMVにもそこが顕著!)も入りつつHEBA KADRYの丹念なマスタリングによって、ポップさを失わずに自分達のスリリングなセンスを最高点で刻み込んだデビュー作にして傑作!

Manchester-based group Mandy, Indiana debuted with a 2021 EP that shaped hair-raising post-punk noise and commanding French-language narratives into bracing industrial dance tracks. Daniel Avery provided a gritty techno remix, and kindred spirits like Gilla Band and Giant Swan took notice -- members of both acts helped mix Mandys debut album, ive seen a way. The group recorded parts of their album in unconventional locations, with renegade sessions held in a Bristol shopping mall, a West Country cave, and Gothic crypts. Starting off with a drifting, midtempo synthwave instrumental, the band enters their propulsive, abrasive dance mode with "Drag [Crashed]." Over nervous electronic thumps and searing sheets of feedback, vocalist Valentine Caulfield mocks beauty standards and power dynamics, telling a woman to constantly smile and avoid wearing provocative clothing. "Pinking Shears" expresses the exhaustion of living in a world ruled by rich racists. The lyrics to the more aggressive, driving "Injury Detail" read like a play-by-play for a Mortal Kombat-style fighting game. The lengthy, crawling "2 Stripe" begins like a fairy tale but ends up being a violent story of revolution and political justice. Danceable tracks like "Peach Fuzz," a triumphant underdog call-to-arms, are the albums most engaging moments, and much more exciting than the downright disturbing "Iron Maiden," which sounds like literal torture. Mandy, Indiana clearly make music with the intention to disrupt, confront, and force the listener to question societys ethics, and their first album succeeds at all of these points. ~ Paul Simpson