CD Reviews
Mannequin - From A Distance | Review
Mannequin - From A Distance
January 2020
Sentimental Records
Debut album from the dark wave band from California!
Coming from the hills of San Diego, coldwave, dark wave duo, Mannequin released their debut full length album, "From A Distance", out on January 10th, via the Belgian independent label, Sentimental Records, also home of the US dark wave, Second Still.
Mannequin is a rather new band coming from US and consists of David San German and Taylor Allen. Their first releases came out in 2017, titled "Singles/Fraction" presenting their cold, dark sound. In summer 2019, the duo released the "Nocere" EP, announcing their upcoming full length album, "From A Distance". Mannequin have already shared stage with some of the greatest dark wave, cold wave, post-punk bands, like She Past Away, Twin Tribes, Wingtips, Ritual Veil and Kontravoid, making their sound known to the audience and gathering experiences from the live appearances. Now, the time came, for the beautiful debut album of the duo, to be released.
"From A Distance" starts with "Modern Light", a song that marks the intro to the album with the synths in a slow melody and an emotional vocal. "Cities" is where you can have a clear picture of the duo's music soundscapes and mood. Influences are coming forward with cold synths and post-punk beats bringing memories of Das Kabinette sound. A song that makes you feel the cold innocence of a dark night in 80's.
"From A Distance" is the third song, same titled with the album and previously released as an official video single, premiered in Post-Punk.com. "From A Distance" is a step forward on the "Cities" sound and ambience. With the video, are , actually, being made visual, all this 80's cold feelings and a catchy post-punk tempo. Emotional, deep voice following the synth lines. "Memories" is a slow dark wave track starting with a bass-line and building the images of a sentimental story. "Radio" returns in higher tempo and tense with steer mood for lyricism and a nostalgic sound on the synths and drums.
"Self-Portrait" is an instrumental synth track with a melancholic melody arranged, as if a self portrait is being created using only the sound of a synth melody and a light oscillator. "Can we Go" is a potential cold wave, post-punk hit, With a strong bass and beat, and vocals in a sad, dark tone can give an sense of a Frozen Autumn or early Clan Of Xymox influence. "Late Night" retains the same soundscape with the dark wave tempo and the nostalgic, emotional arrangement on synths, beats and voice.
Mannequin releases a really convincing debut album, including all the romanticism, the nostalgia and the melancholic coldness of the dark wave nights, that could guide you to the new romantics sounds of the 80's. With influences that bring memories of Das Kabinette, Clan of Xymox, The Frozen Autumn or even the minimalistic sound of Iron Curtain, the Californian duo manage to build the cold and dark atmosphere of a modern coldwave, post-punk story, interpreted with a deep, sad tone in vocals. I suggest you should check the "Frpm A Distance" album in the Mannequin's social profiles and pages. They are definitely here to stay and I am sure they have more for us in the future. Looking forward to their next steps!
Info:
https://www.facebook.com/mannequinwave/
https://sentimentalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/from-a-distance
