One Austin, Texas band you just don't hear enough about is the sorely underrated and somewhat mysterious four-piece known as Manikin. With two full-length CDs and this, their second 7" just released this month on Super Secret Records, it's about time they came back to the front of our consciousness and burrowed deep into the soft parts of our skulls for a serious re-acquaintance. To call them stripped-down post punk would be obviously selling them short, but Manikin's Wire-isms really cut to the point without wasting anyone's time. Even sprinkling in some usually difficult brass elements keep it far away from the mundane trappings, and elevate this Texas band to a point that should be peaking the interest of Tyvek and A-Frames fanatics across the board by now. By keeping their songs sharp, short and menacing in their build-up, Manikin does a great job of conjuring up visions of early 80s unclassifiable LP compilations like Keats Rides Harley, that covered such a vast spectrum of underground music when the field was still wide open. While they effortlessly jettison their tightly-wound machine into the next dimension, they continue to create something out of nothing and leave another remarkable recording as evidence to their hypnotic and immediate charm.
An excellent live unit as well, Mankin may suffer from being too closely named to similar bands, as otherwise their menacing and autocratic sound needs your attention and you really need this record to fill that void. As a band that doesn't seem to venture out on the road too much, we can only hope that more people outside of Austin can catch onto this mesmerizing angry pop noise. Look for Manikin's next full-length LP to be released later this year, and check them out live this Friday at Beerland in Austin as well. And whatever you do, do not miss out on this devastatingly simple and impressive 7" that probably won't be around for very long in it's micro pressing of 500. Pick up a copy right from Super Secret Records right HERE.
check out a video clip of Manikin performing "Grinding Halt" at Beerland back in February, courtesy of DavidRayDog, right here...
