It is inevitable that the pandemic will have an influence on contemporary music. Philadelphia punk band Mannequin Pussy had just released their third album Patience and were touring when the pandemic hit early in 2020. As with us all, social isolation hit hard along with anxiety regarding the impact of the pandemic to all aspects of life. After a substantial break and when the rules allowed, the band got back into the studio. With two songs already written they decided to write the others spontaneously fuelled by the excitement of playing together again. As the band themselves admitted “We just figured if we forced ourselves into this situation where someone could hit ‘record’, something might come out. We’d never written that way before”. The result is the 5-track EP Perfect released on Epitaph.
The EP opens with ‘Control‘ and begins with a gentle strumming guitar and a beautiful vocal by lead singer Missy. However do not be fooled, this quickly launches into a
Next is ‘Perfect‘, perhaps what we expect from Mannequin Pussy. A raucous track with shouty punk vocals accompanied by a wild rock guitar which is executed at a furious pace. The sentiment here is one of social comparison, which has weirdly intensified under the extraordinary pressures of the pandemic. Social media has increased its importance, providing a snapshot of our lives under covid, whilst we remained isloated and seprated. How could our lives possibly have become so small?
‘To Lose You‘ is gentler again, a heartfelt impassioned song full of emotion.
‘Pigs is Pigs‘ I must admit is my favourite. Snarly, aggressive and with a wicked punked up guitars and drums.
Finally the pace slows right down again with final song ‘Darling‘, a glorious contemplative love song. It is beautifully sung by Missy with an
Themes here are so open and honest. They are about love and gratitude for those closest to us.
What strikes me most about this EP as a whole is the variety in mood and style between the tracks.