Man Man – Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between

It’s a real shame that the self-described ‘Viking Vaudeville’ act can’t yet hit the road behind this year’s wild 'Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between'....
Man Man : Dream Hunting In the Valley of the In-Between
7.3 Sub Pop
2020 

Man Man : Dream Hunting In the Valley of the In-Between

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The worldwide corona pandemic has hit music particularly hard (of course, not as hard as nursing homes, hospitals, low income workers, minorities, etc.), as concerts & festivals were the first to get axed, and will likely be the last to come back. Particularly hard-hit are great live indie bands, who make their bread-and-butter with killer shows, like Philadelphia’s Man Man. It’s a real shame that the self-described ‘Viking Vaudeville’ act can’t yet hit the road behind this year’s wild Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between.

Man Man’s singular sound, wild percussion, piano, horns and more has made them stand out from others, but admittedly their records are rather similar to each other.  The last few, such as 2013’s On Oni Pond (QRO review) and 2011’s Life Fantastic (QRO review) did stretch the act into darker terrain, but Dream Hunting sees them return to more familiar ground (possibly due to the departure of longtime Man, Pow Pow).  Still, there’s the time to dance crazy on the relaxed “Future Peg”, great rambling story-telling “Goat” and “The Prettiest Song in the World”, and just the fun fun Man Man “Inner Iggy” (main Man Honus Honus definitely does “channel” his “inner Iggy” on stage).  There are even quieter tracks “If Only”, and a number of instrumental interstitials.

Live music might not come back until 2021, and who knows what it’s going to be like.  God willing there will be a place for Man Man’s Dream Hunting.

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