As frontman Honus Honus explains. “Contextually, this is an album fueled by the end of relationships, the death of good friends, an absence of structure, drifting from place to place without a real home. It's funny because in the past I was able to take bad situations and turn them into something creative but this time around I just couldn't at all. I felt nothing, which was worse than being miserable and depressed. Sometimes I guess you have to stumble around in a fog for awhile until you find a way out, rediscover your heart, take comfort in knowing that the only thing you really have control over is how you choose to roll with the punches. In many ways, this is an album about carrying on."
Life Fantastic is the first Man Man album with a proper producer behind the boards. And not just any knob-twiddler, either. We’re talking Mike Mogis, the Bright Eyes member responsible for the widescreen backdrops of nearly every major Saddle Creek release. The record also features lush string arrangements by fellow Bright Eyes member Nate Walcott.
“The songs were fully-formed entities by the time we got to Mike’s studio,” says Kattner, “But he was there to say things like, ‘Okay, that’s a bit (too) much.’ He was able to help us carve the beauty out of the chaos we brought. It wasn’t whittling down the points; it was sharpening them so they’d puncture even deeper.”
The celebrated avant-garde rock outfit Man Man will release their brand new album entitled Life Fantastic this May 10 on Anti-Records. The album opener “Knuckle Down” is available for streaming today on Pitchfork.
1 Knuckle Down (3:07)
2 Piranhas Club ( 3:52)
3 Steak Knives (3:26)
4 Dark Arts (3:49)
5 Haute Tropique (3:51)
6 Shameless (6:45)
7 Spooky Jookie (4:20)
8 Eel Bros (0:50)
9 Bangkok Necktie (2:51)
10 Life Fantastic (4:43)
11 Oh, La Brea (4:48)
Honus Honus: Piano, vocals, keyboards, percussion
Pow Pow: Drums, percussion
Turkey Moth: Synth, organ, vocals
Chang Wang: Alto sax, bari sax, flute, melodica, percussion, vocals
Jefferson: Guitar, vocals
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