Man Man - Carrot on Strings (2024)

 

Art Rock / Krautrock / Post-Punk

RIYL: Mister Heavenly, Islands, Wolf Parade

★★★

I lost touch with Man Man, the zany art-rock project of gravel-mouthed Honus Honus and his band of carnival freaks, after 2008's Rabbit Habits, which I thought was a step down from their 2005 indie hit Six Demon Bag. Perpetually intrigued by their visual aesthetic and hooked by the strength of lead singles "Tastes Like Metal" and "Iguana", I decided to check back in on my old friends with their latest offering, Carrot on Strings, which unfortunately turned out to be just what the title refers to: a tease.

Man Man's initial draw, at least for my tastes, was their unhinged, chaotic energy and most of that has been sapped away as they've aged out of their punk instincts, and Carrot refines a much more mature sound than what I remember fondly. Incorporating elements of funky doo-wop, motorik krautrock and sun-drenched Americana, the genre-blending maintains the group's sense of adventure, but ultimately that combination sounds much more exciting on paper and the results fall flat when the enthusiasm wanes in the album's midsection. There are a few tracks, such as the aforementioned singles and the lengthy epics "Cryptoad" and "Odyssey", that make the whole somewhat worthwhile (the carrot, if you will) but unfortunately that hint of a spark is whipped away out of sight all too soon.