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Part swampy juke joint brawlers, part smooth Philly warehouse doo-wop crooners, a sprinkling of wild-eyed, demon-haunted art hustler, and a hint of punky kindergarten playroom Pollyannas, Man Man bring their incomparable vision of “pop music” to bear with Rabbit Habits, their Anti- Records debut. Having honed their legendarily exuberant live show to hypothalamus-tickling perfection opening for such indie stalwarts as Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire and Cat Power, the band has captured the fiery spirit and essence of a Man Man show and etched it into 45 minutes of the most raucous, weirdly moving, spiritually uplifting music this side of Oppenheimer’s great beyond. Stand-out tracks such as “Top Drawer” and “Big Trouble” illustrate Man Man’s ability to provoke and inspire in a single instance.

Man Man’s power isn’t derived from the genres they stumble across, or the maniac light in their eyes, or the sweat pooling in their beards. It’s the unbearable sadness in their marrow and how they transform it, like the existentially distressed but heroically steadfast men men they are, into a terrible and lionhearted joy.” Pitchfork

Meet the new Minutemen! With not a song over 2:24, the Death Set’s Worldwide is an amalgamation of lo-fi electronica and old school punk rock a la Minutemen and their cited influences: Black Flag, the Buzzcocks, and Minor Threat. I’m not so sure I heard the Buzzcocks so much as I heard the Go! Team’s “Thunder, Lightning, Strike” (without the horns) - a DIY sound, an overdriven Casio with frenetic guitars backing up sideline cheerleaders of the 21st century. An apt reference is our local team, No Age who have combined punk and surf with new aesthetics. Other notable tunes on Worldwide are: “Intermission”, “Around the World”, and the transcendent “Impossible”.