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Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > July > 06 > Entry
CD review: Manikin ‘Stop the Sirens’
Manikin
‘Stop the Sirens’
(Super Secret)
Grade: A-
One of the most annoying things about the post-punk revival from a few years ago was some bands’ conviction that Gang of Four was a genre. Manikin managed to avoid this trap altogether and instead figured out that the first couple of Cure albums were ripe for reexamination. Their excellent new album isn’t shy about their interest in Robert Smith’s early trio workouts (they cover “Grinding Halt” from the Cure’s debut “Three Imaginary Boys”), but they also know that playing those sort of spare songs full of flanged out guitar is all the more fun when played fast, teetering on the edge of out of control.
Guitarist Alfonso Rabago belts out every word, his voice caked in echo and fuzz, yelling like he’s gotta get it all out before the song is over, his spiky solos running roughshod over the minimalist grooves. Alyse Mervosh (also the drummer in the excellent garage band Hex Dispensers) and bassist B.J. Schneider drive the songs like freight trains with Bill Jeffery’s trumpet adding weird, unexpected splashes of color. It’s a very Austin touch for one of the year’s best local albums.
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