Music Review #6: Deepfleshred by Mangabros
A new musical offering from Mangabros which will be released on Fusion Records (UK) on Sunday 17th July, this album features the immense vocal talents of Yikii Tong, Hanna Yli-Tepsa, Rachel Gaskin-Whitrod, Jill Beaulieu (one half of Meter Bridge), Cheryl Janzen (of Vague Notion), Kami Hall (of The Magickal), Jade-Lee Saxelby and the pianist Marina Vesic (BlackMarine and 2 Totems).
The first track is Whale in the Belly which features Yikii. This song has underlying nautical feeling to it and you can imagine yourself lying on a boat somewhere tropical. It lulls you into a blissful reverie. This is followed by Crawlspace of the Gods which also features Yikii. A slightly muffled piano starts this peace in a dreamlike manner. Then comes a percussive beat of clicks and pops which the piano keeps from taking hold fully. Then a distorted guitar (maybe) subdues the piano and yet the whole piece manages to retain its dreamlike quality.
The next track is The History of Swaying which features Hanna on vocals. Slightly distorted percussive beats are added to by a quite guitar and piano which makes for a very pleasant listen. Following this is The Tallest Man on the Planet which features vocalist Rachel Gaskin-Whitrod. Whilst listening to this track I was strongly reminded of Kate Bush's songs - it was the atmosphere the song generated rather than being musically similar.
Next is The Last Ghost Story which features Jill on vocals. At first this starts almost as a conventional synthwave song. But nothing is conventional with the Mangabros and soon we are treated to more interesting music with a trumpet fanfare which punctuates the piece. After this comes Circuitry with Cheryl taking over the vocals. This is a quieter piece with electronic effects behind the piano and vocals and to this listener has a very reflective quality to it.
Track seven is Music for Wallflowers featuring Kami on vocals. This song reminded me strongly of Tangerine Dream's Dancing on a White Moon from their Shy People soundtrack. Again not musically but the feel and spirit of the piece. This is a very catchy little number. Track eight is Harlow's Monkeys which features Jade-Lee on vocals. This is a more obviously song with strong lyrics and vocal style with music to match.
Following that is Tactile featuring Jill again. For some inexplicable reason whilst listening to this song I kept thinking of Brian Eno. There was something in the lyrics and the vocal delivery that every so often put me in mind of Eno's songs. Again this was a feeling rather than anything the music overtly did. Track ten is Hibakusha, the second track to feature Kami. To this listener it transported me back to old jazz numbers which retaining its modernity with the piano and Mangabros distinctive style.
Track eleven is White Mice in a Red Maze featuing Kami once again. Oddly the title sounds like an old Peter Gabriel-era Genesis track, although musically totally different. Another powerful song with powerful vocals. Following this is Chimera Obscura featuring Yikii in her third song on the album. Bleeps and bloops accompany Yikii's vocals and makes for an interesting sonic journey.
The last track on the album is Tar Baby Goo and features BlackMarine piano and not vocals. This track has an avant-garde feel to is and the beginning sounded like musique concrète to me, although it may not be. It also felt the most ambient of all the pieces here.
All in all this is a excellent album with enough differences between the tracks to please most people. The vocalists are all superb and its refreshing to have so many different vocal styles on one album, with each singer bringing their unique styles to bear on Mangabros musical Vision. I'd highly recommend this album to all musical lovers because everyone should find something to love here.
Deepfleshred is out on Sunday, 17th July, on Fusion Records (UK) which can be found here.
