Man Band who comprise of Chainy Rabbit (vocals), Daniel Sargent (guitar), Aaron Jaygo (guitar), Dan Bigwood (bass), and Jim Davies (drums) release their debut record ‘Strong Man’ this month. Since the disbandment of UK doom legends Ohhms, guitarist (Daniel Sargent) and bassist (Chainy Rabbit) have joined forces and created an entirely new beast in the form of Man Band who have managed to meld a plethora of musical influences, so much so that they refer to themselves as genre fluid heavy music.
Thematically the record is a running commentary on different forms of masculinity and how it fits into modern society now, both the toxic and non-toxic sides of it. Lyrically they touch upon new love and sexual excitement, juxtaposed with songs about deep loss, sadness, anger, and guilt.
‘Dane Valley’ leads us in and Daniel Sargent (guitar) elaborates on the number which is about singer Chainy ” being a skinny guy who got mugged for £50 in Dane Valley park, a notoriously rough part of Margate. He then decided to become super strong, muscle-covered and learned kick boxing, so that no one could ever mug him again.” It`s a track that has an underlying feeling of tension which probably reflects the trauma of having been attacked and the decision to forestall and prevent any repetition. A track that has a Rage Against The Machine resentment about it. There was immense anger shared throughout `My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad` which usually represents a boast of superiority or one-upmanship, asserting that one’s father is stronger, better, or more powerful than another’s. A form of childish bragging that put me in mind of the ire shared during the collaboration between Leftfield and John Lydon on `Open Up`. A song about young men’s almost overwhelming desire to fight.
`The Nutter` is pretty much as the title would equate to, a full blown stream of enraged consciousness shared over a captivating weighty auditory backing which heads of into its own almost hypnotising furrow for the last two hundred and twenty six seconds. There`s a real change of pace with `Captain Sensible` which is a slower burn but retains all the intensity of what has passed before. That sense of underlying menace or danger still permeates the number which was written about sex, lust, and love.
`Men Don’t Cry` as apparently testosterone inhibits the crying reflex and it’s often seen as a sign of weakness, to be despised. A no-nonsense head rush of a track with some pounding thumping drums and blistering bass and guitar riffs which kind of addresses toxic masculinity with vocals that sound fairly frustrated at times. The final cut is `Ian’s Song` which is about the singer`s best friend Ian who died of a drug overdose a decade ago, a kind of eulogy and i`m sure very cathartic for the frontman as he still feels responsible for his friends demise. It`s understandably full of anger but spliced trough with some interesting views of the state of the country we live in. A number that will leave you with more questions than answers on it`s conclusion.
`Strong Man` is a real marker as to the talents of Man band and it`ll be interesting to see how this band develops. It`s pretty gripping musically and will leave you with some food for thought lyrically.
Rating 8.5/10
