Mannequin Pussy

Gypsy Pervert (2014)

RENALDO69

Epic band—name aside, Mannequin Pussy really have taken an album, divisive in its nature, and used it to kick the punk game in its ass. Not every track is full—fledged punk but those that are…are punk as fuck. Half the album embeds itself in a relentless, grungey—punk theme while the other fixates in wispy, fuzzy shoegaze—pop. Despite spreading their roots wide, Mannequin Pussy even things out pretty well. They even combine genres to marvelous effect on a couple tracks, which like the majority of the album, fit the taste—buds nicely— Especially for folks with a diverse palette. Expanding from a duo, Marisa Dabice and Thanasi Paul, really have found a winning formula as a three—piece which entails an enormous amount of emotional back and forth to deliver one of the best pieces of music this year in Gypsy Pervert. What a debut!

The record is front—heavy with that skate—punk sense of urgency. Most of the songs throughout are short but feel rushed in a good way. The album commences with the abrasive "Sneaky Nips" — beefed up with anger and chaos. These initial tracks are compact and dirty in terms of punk, which is all the more evident with the musical shift later on. This split down the middle is teased with "Clit Eastwood" which feels like Tarantino's shoegaze track for his new Western project. The flow into the more poppy and dreamier "Someone Like You" (and no, it's not an Adele cover) is even more seamless. It's a wonder how well they float in and out from these accessible, catchy bits to more underground punk—tastic elements. Mid—album, the continuous blasts of contemplative shoegaze do come at you pretty hard but as the texture of the record smoothens out, the changes in direction feel so natural. The transition is fully felt by the time "Meat Slave 2" rolls around with its hazed distortion. Mainstream? Yes. Garage and demo—like? Still, yes. Again, Manqeuin Pussy juggle these acts together pretty solidly and it's a grand balancing act at that. The music is distributed so beautifully. Everything's well—timed, well—paced and fits like a puzzle.

The record mixes these various genres up to end on a bang and remind you of the whirlwind of tracks comprising Gypsy Pervert. "Sheet City" mixes both sounds offered to sheer perfection to help cap a brilliant run. The music feels organic as tones shift with the band's emotional weight yet you're never lost. Lyrically, they never skip a beat and I think this helps build that strong, pensive connection to the listener. In the realm of storytelling, the words of Mannequin Pussy do feel morally ambiguous amid their raw, heartfelt melodies but it's when they speed things up and unleash their anger, you feel invited to their confrontational stance. And most of all, you feel welcome. The album swings from tree to tree but at day's end, the messages are very clear and really resonate. I expect bigger things for this band. Very, very soon.