Man Man

With Man Man, there’s hardly ever a dull moment, and much like The Man in a Blue Turban With a Face and Six Demon Bag, Rabbit Habits wastes no time opening the curtains to the Philly band’s bizarro travelling circus. They come racing out of the gates with "Mister Jung Stuffed,” in true fashion, mixing schoolyard chants with a rapid-fire rhythm filled with claps and frequency fiddling. As it unfolds, we hear the inimitable arrangements come out with a Cheshire Cat smile, revealing bone-tickling xylophones, heart-beating bass, drunken Tin Pan Alley horns, the melodious piano/organ and of course, Honus Honus’s Captain Caveman call. We’ve come to expect it, and things converge beautifully, like dumping puzzle pieces that assemble automatically. And yet, Man Man have graduated with some honours, reaching a "maturity,” knowing they can slide in their most harebrained moment ("El Azteca”) with their most restrained (the poignant title track). Growth, it’s important, and Man Man have accomplished it with both grace and the same chaos we loved them for in the first place.