Man Man

Venturing into the world of Man Man is an at-your-own-risk endeavor. Don't believe me? They even have their fans sign waivers before each concert that read, "Soul corruption and face melting both intentional and likely." (This may or may not be true).

But considering comparisons to avant-garde forefathers Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa, the listener already knows what he is getting into. And with names like Honus Honus, Sergei Sogay, Critter Crat, Pow Pow and Chang Wang, the men of Man Man are equipped to carry the torch.

Rather than Six Demon Bag's scattered lovesickness, Rabbit Habits is perfected chaos that permeates with a brimming evil throughout. At the forefront of the mix, Honus Honus's vocals grate and strain as he spits tales of a cast of unfortunate characters. "Mister Jung Stuffed" and "Hurly/Burly" are done in true Man Man style, fast-paced and peppered with out-of-tune horns and xylophones. "Top Drawer" is a slower march on which a possessed Honus screams, "You need a black Cadillac/So death can drive it or ride in the back." On "Poor Jackie," Honus trades in his lovesick past for contempt with, "I don't see what everybody/Sees in your sexy body/All I see is a shallow grave/Trapped inside a pretty face." The closer "Whalebones" is the sad dirge at the end of a vaudeville act and ends the album on a more subdued note.

Basically, Rabbit Habits is a mix tape made for the Devil.

As Honus Honus summons Lucifer himself on his Rhodes piano, the rest of the cast create an otherworldly atmosphere with dissonant horns and desperate vocals that let a bit of demonic influence simmer to the surface. All this pushes Man Man to the edge of insanity, but somehow they haven't yet sold their souls.