The Manvils are my probably my favourite band right now. Stating this comes as a bit of a surprise as the immediate realization of this fact didn't initially come from me. It happened at the Slice in Lethbridge before seeing The Manvils last month. I was there with my friend Crystal, ridiculously early as usual, drinking way too much considering how many hours we were gonna log that evening. As our server dropped off the second of about 27 pitchers of Keith's she asked us if we were staying to see The Manvils and Crystal said "Oh yeah, they're like his favourite band in the world'. And I thought "well I don't know about favourite..." and then after the first set ended with an absolutely blistering 'Buried Love' I thought "Goddamn, they probably ARE my favourite band in the world!". And that's really difficult for me to state for multiple reasons. Firstly, I had to qualify the acknowledgment with 'probably' because as science type guy I have difficulty with absolutes. You cannot really know anything with a 100% certainty, there's always an unknown factor. For example, out the population of current rock & roll bands currently roaming the planet, I've only heard a small sample. Maybe there's a Ukrainian version of the Manvils that I might like even MORE than the Canadian version but because they're unsigned and never leave the old Bloc I'll never hear them. Plus, "favourite" is an overused word to begin with, people are always saying "oh that's my favourite blank" "Oh really, seriously your favourite?" "Well, no, not my absolute favourite..." Ahhhh, I see, so you just like it then. That's great. Also as a bit of a music obsessive, I probably listen to a lot of artists relative to the average person. Like a lot. So picking a favourite out of a large sample is tough. And how does one realize they have a favourite? I think it's kind of like when you realize you're in love. Do you get excited when that special person walks in the room? Yes? How about after the millionth time you watched them walk in the room? Is that excitement still there? It's probably love. It came to me recently after playing their debut Buried Love and their eponymous 2009 album for probably the billionth time. When I throw The Manvils are the turntable and put the needle on the record, I still get excited to hear Mikey sing the first line "Not a delicate staaaaarttttt..." from 'Good Luck Club'. It's gotta be love. And like the ineffable love, the sound of The Manvils it's hard to verbalize for me. It's simple but it ain't. Of course, it's only rock & roll and therefore not terribly complicated. But this isn't left hemisphere business, sir; this is ALL right brain. The right brain can't tell you a damn thing, but it just knows. The Drive By Truckers, who I also love, have a sound that is pretty easy to nail. Of course they play straight up rock & roll too but clearly they got a southern vibe they don't stray from (thankfully). The Manvils are just classic, but not classic rock. They're high energy but not fast. They mine the same musical vein as The Clash and The Jam and Raw-Power era Stooges. It's just rock & roll, done right.
So check out the sample mix and then be good to yourself and pick up their LPs, Buried Love (2007) and The Manvils (2009) along with the Strange Disaster EP, all available on iTunes. And for the love of god, if they're even in the remote vicinity of your town go catch them live, they're fucking incredible. I've even toyed with the idea of not drinking the next time I see them because I don't want to miss a moment. Of course, that's the ledge I'm going to have crawl onto because the drinking and their rock & roll show is pretty much the best combo going. If I could somehow combine my Peter Jackson menthols and the rest of the carnal pleasures in there, I'd be in heaven. I've seen them twice now here in Lethbridge and like I said, halfway through the last show I threw all caution to the wind and declared them my favourite band. I hope more folks hear & see them in 2010. They're that good.
1. Good Luck Club
2. Pretty Bleed
3. The Stoker
4. Strange Disaster
5. Missing You
6. Turpentine
7. Between the Lashes
8. Buried Love
