Mannequin Beach’s new album filled with urgent music
FIFTH from Page 16
instrument. The three members come
together best on “Harlequin,”
“Leech,” “This Nightmare’s For
Real,” and “Money Hungry
Whore.”
The song “Gerbil” is a reminder
of Mannequin Beach’s demo tape
r .JH.IBm
If i* a*
Gerbilife and shows the band’s
view of the masses: “We jog for the
lord/In the wheel round and round/
Gerbils eat their young/And watch
the world crash down.’’
Many of the Jyrics are pessimistic,
as are these from “Behind Your
Back V Back at work I’m civilized/
I use buttons instead of spears/How
1,1 .... ...j '..liiiiaBnaii n »
W* JO u- a 1
does it feel to know/We haven’t
changed in a thousand years.”
Our society and its masses deserve
much criticism. But why stop with
criticism? That is my only complaint
about this album. The lyrics do a
good job explaining things wrong
with our society, yet do little to sug
gest avenues of change. Criticism can
begin to open eyes, but suggestions
for change arc needed to open hearts
and minds.
The criticisms are valid and pierc
ing, as in this sample from “Money
Hungry Whore”: “Dressed up in a
suit and tic/Trying to be the boss/
V
Good Samaritan parables/Some
where they got lost/All your business
partners/Agree that its alright/To al
ter moral pohcy/If the money’s
right.”
I have heard much of Mannequin
Beach’s fusion of punk, metal, and
jazz, but I really only catch the first
two. I hear glimpses of MDC (“Pa
thetic”) and old Toxic Reasons
(“Street Life”), but the glimpses are
fleeting.
Mannequin Beach is its own band
and seldom deviate from jts metalish/
punkish sound. One such departure,
✓
“Time to Call the Vole,” mixes slow
and fast speeds while satirizing poli
ticians who are concerned with
power rather than with people.
“Don’t Laugh, You’re Next’’ is
getting the national distribution it
deserves. Mannequin Beach offers
clear, burning condemnations of our
society backed by rousing music. I
hope the band will offer suggestions
for change on their next release, in
addition to criticisms.
“It’s too much fun pulling bricks
out of this leaning lower of sewage”
~ Mannequin Beach
Band s new album offers good changes
By Mark Lage
Staff Reporter
For Against
Deccmlyer
Independent Project Records
Its reputation for dissonant, cf
fects-ladcn music notwithstanding,
the best part of local Lincoln band For
Against has always been the often
irresistibly catchy guitar of Harry
Dingman III.
I--1
Season's
Greetings
Daily
Nebraskan
I
Unfortunately, on the band’s first
LP release from two years ago,
“Echelons,” there were infrequent
examples of this.
The band tended more towards
slow, repetitive droning, sometimes
even leaving the guitar out com
pletely in lieu of simple keyboards.
And when they did kick in to more up
tempo, catchier songs like “Shine,”
or “It’s a' Lie,” the guitar was mired
somewhere deep in die murky, musty
production of the album.
Bui some things have changed on
For Against’s recently released sec
ond album, “December,” and the
changes arc all for the belter. “De
cember’’ is made up of nine songs
which are all at least as good if not
better than the best two or three from
“Echelons.”
The new album features a lighter,
livelier production, less repetitive
and more imaginatively structured
soRgs, and a forccfuincss which
“Echelons” sometimes lacked. And
the guitar docsn’t sit out on any of the
songs.
Dingman’schimcy.clangy style is
at the same time both unique, and
reminiscent of other notable eighties
guitarists — less twisted early Edge,
and sometimes Rcckoning-cra Peter
Buck.
Dtngman is never especially dex
terous in the solo areas, but he proves
again and again that just a few notes
can always be good notes. At times he
even sounds like a better version of A
Flock of Seagulls’ guitarist.
In fact, one minor problem with
“December” is the band's enervat
ing tendency to sound like the Flock
as a whole in isolated moments. This
is especially true when bassist/lead
vocalist Jeffrey Runnings sings about
being ‘‘Stranded in Greenland.”
The album’s best moments are
also those which would be most sur
prising to people who have only read
or heard about the ‘‘dark, forebod
ing” sounds of For Against -- the
solid, straight-ahead alternative pop
of songs like ‘‘They Said,” and ‘‘The
Last Laugh.”
And they also manage to incorpo
rate some of Dingman’s more omi
nous chord barrages into “Decem
ber” (the title track), and “Clandes
tine High Holy,” while avoiding the
suffocating aura of “Echelons.”
“December” isn’t an album you
could listen to every day for the rest
of your life (very few albums arc),
and For Against doesn’t seem to have
the makings of a great band. But
“December” is a collection of songs
that simply sound good, emphatically
displaying the ability to be a very
good band.
M i
CON G ATUL ATION S
&
GOOD LUCK
The Daily Nebraskan would like to wish the Fall 1988
UNL Graduates the best of luck in all they do. We thank
Ithem lor the contributions they have made to the Uni
versity of Nebraska-Lincoln.
We would especially like to salute two outstanding
members of our staff:
PAT PENSICK, from Colum
bus, will finally graduate
with a degree in Journalism -
Advertising.
DEBI TRUMBLE, a North
Platte native, will also finally
graduate with a degree in
Journalism - Advertising.
The Quality. The Craftsmanship.
The Reward Ybu Deserve
Don't miss this
opportunity to get
ArtCarved style and
quality at an unbeat
able price!
University Bookstore,
Dec. 21-229-3 P.M.Nebraska Union
;;-?ryr« :SW 3P_
