Titus writes:
Mannequin Pussy (where DO they get these names
from?) are an American punk and indie rock band. They hale from
Philadelphia, and whilst they were originally formed in 2010, the
current line up only dates back to 2021, and consists of Marisa ‘Missy’
Dabice (vocals & guitar), Kaleen Reading (drums), Colins ‘Bear’
Regisford (bass & vocals) and Maxine Steen (guitar). On live
performances they are joined by multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Haynes.
They have released four studio albums since formation, but just one
with the current line up, which is ‘I got Heaven’, plus an EP called
‘Perfect’. In 2021 the band released the EP and 2 singles were taken
from it, which were ‘Control’ and ‘Perfect’. No lesser person than
‘Pitchfork’ journalist Arielle Gordon gave the record 7.2 out of 10,
and noted that it introduced subtle shifts in sound and structure.
A
major setback happened at the start of an Autumn tour, when the band
members awoke to find that their 2012 Econoline touring van, with
trailer attached, had been stolen and in excess of $50,000 worth of
equipment had gone with it. The tour was forced to continue with
borrowed equipment from other bands. A couple of years later, in August
2023. Mannequin Pussy bought back the rights to their masters from
their former label Tiny Engines, and then announced their own company,
Romantic Records, which releases records on Epitaph!. This is where it
gets slightly confusing – the band released what was to become the
title track of forthcoming LP ‘I got Heaven’ as a single well before
the album’s release, which is unusual in that it’s generally the other
way round, i.e. you release an LP, and a single is THEN taken from it.
To make things even more confusing, the band, after forming their own
Romantic Records label, reissued their second album ‘Romantic’.
Mannequin
Pussy toured the United States, Spain and Portugal in the Fall of
2023, and the band finally announced that their LP ‘I got Heaven’ would
be released in March 2024, on the Epitaph label, just like their EP
previously. It was formatted as a digital download, CD, vinyl and
streaming. The band also released the song ‘Pledge’ on their own
YouTube Channel, and Dabice said “So many times in our life, we find
ourselves being influenced from the outside. People try to control us,
our beliefs, our movements, our identities, our dress” The video
sought to narrate a woman’s experience where her movements are
controlled by a man by the others that surround her and the powerful
declaration that she is able to make to herself, when she can free
herself of the people who seek to conform her.
I
am guessing that you, dear reader, if you’re already a fan on
Mannequin Pussy, will be aware of most of what I have written, and you
enjoy their music. For those of you that haven’t come across them yet,
they may sound like many other girl-led bands. All I would say is
give them a chance. Give them a few listens and there are plenty of
music videos now available online. Personally, I’m a fan of the title
track of the ‘I got Heaven’ album, and I’m asking Lex to play the
version that was live on KEXP, which can hopefully be found here. I
say hopefully, because as I type these notes, Lex is on his way to
Casablanca and I’m unsure as to when he’ll be fully “set up”. I’m
really looking forward to his show, because as you know, he’s had
thoughts of broadcasting from the balcony of the Casablanca flat!
