Mannequin/Transistor Transistor "split" 7"
[Robotic Empire]
Whew, what a relief. I thought this was going to blow. Something about the band names and imagery had me thinking this thing screamed: "Warning: Over the top and obnoxious screamo bullshit inside!" but thankfully that's far from the case. Mannequin starts off and plays unusual rock. I don't know what else to call it. There's a little bit of a punk feel, but it's basically just quirky rock 'n' roll with a mix of unique singing vocals and some screams/shouts. It's catchy writing though, everything's all pretty straightforward: Short songs with forceful chord progressions and a little bit of melody, nothing too aggressive. Their lyrics are ridiculous, though. "I made acid in my couch, Tastes like sex turned x-es, In like my lightning set moods I am bleeding perfume..." Whatever. Transistor Transistor plays similarly quirky rock with more unique vocals that rest in between singing and speaking, infusing a greater level of dissonance in the writing. Their two tracks aren't as straightforward, they're perhaps darker. It's more interesting work in my opinion. Lyrically the stuff is pretty abstract: "This is out of control there is a hole in our home it's leaking out into the road and all the neighbors know it's leaking out into the road now..." Both bands have adequate recordings that seem similar to me as well, nothing jumps out as being either problematic or overly impressive about either session, but they both sound fine and get the job done. The 7" comes on deep clear red vinyl with some black swirls, and the sleeve looks pretty cool. I like the bold coloring and high contrast imagery, as well as the scribbled handwritten text. Everything is consistent and pretty striking. Not a bad split. The bands are definitely well paired. It's not exactly my thing, but I can appreciate it. (6/10)
Running time - 9:00 (approximately), Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: Skin, Songsanstitle]
Robotic Empire - http://www.roboticempire.com

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