Man Man – Life Fantastic

The band Man Man, photo from http://www.jezebelmusic.com/116/man-man-us-tour-dates/

I’ve waited for this. I’ve actively looked forward to it. And it’s here!

I have concluded that I’ve listened to enough of “Life Fantastic” to give everyone the scoop. So, here it is.

As one might have guessed, “Life Fantastic” is rife with fantastic. Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.

Here’s the breakdown. The album is more polished than any of their other work, but still manages to convey the vaguely crazy nature of Man Man. The music is wonderful, and the lyrics are powerful. It’s really what you would want in an album. You have the optimistic (if somewhat reckless) view on life:

“If you gotta smash some plates to relax, I say do it. D-d-d-d-d-do it. And if you gotta crash a car in a lake to feel sane, I say do it. Just do it. And if you gotta scream until your voice breaks, I say do it. D-d-d-d-d-do it. And if you gotta punch your dad in the face, I say think about it: Do it.” (“Piranhas Club”)

Then you have the amazingly creepy “Haute Tropique.” Arguably my favorite song on the album, it provides a rather memorable chorus:

“You’re born what you’re meant to be. If you’re bad, then be bad the best. If you’re good, stay away from me. We’re a bad influence, we’re the best.”

Of course, despite the oddly upbeat nature of the previous song, I think the spirit of this album is really dark when you analyze the lyrics.

“And are you my pet? Or did I have to work so hard for nothing? I know you’ve met the mess you’ll marry. He’ll keep you fed, but can he carry the weight of your heart?” (“Steak Knives”)

“It’s how you hide your cards. It’s how you dress your scars and let them breathe. Life fantastic. Life so tragic.” (“Life Fantastic”)

I mean, what are you supposed to do with those two songs? The first example (“Steak Knives”) is about Ryan’s ex. So that definitely makes sense. “Life Fantastic” was probably not meant to be interpreted as darkly as I interpret it. But come on. It’s a rather cynical view of life. The entire song is about someone finding a corpse at a picnic. Really let that sink in.

Of course, once you know what was going on in Ryan’s life when he wrote this album, the vibe from it doesn’t seem so surprising. Ryan had just gotten out of a long-term relationship, he had nowhere to live and was traveling all across the country, and a couple of his friends who had actually been critical to getting him into the music world had passed away. That’s a lot for anyone to deal with. He said that it took him a year and a half to finish the first song on “Life Fantastic” because he had almost lost faith in music completely.

So, this album comes from a pretty deep place. And I’m not even done talking about it. Though I tend to focus more on lyrics, “Oh, La Brea” has some of the most moving and beautiful melodic surprises in it. Around the 3 minute mark, it moves into gentle strings that put me in the mind of peacefully coming to grips with some change in your life. Like that scene in a movie where the heroine has to get on the bus and go away to a new and strange land because she has no options left. She doesn’t weep. She looks forward to whatever she finds. Yeah. That’s what it is to me.

And that’s the end of the album. It ends with a wonderful journey just beginning.

Of course, I bought the album with the bonus tracks. This ain’t my first rodeo.

By far, my favorite bonus track is “Trunk Eyes.” Good grief, that song is great.

“Our hearts are such hungry beasts. The harder we starve them, the more all-consuming. And I understand they’ll never find the love that they need, so we try to run ’em into the ground.”

So, yeah. This entire album is pretty great, and it certainly inspires some thought. I like Man Man’s music, but they are people, going through problems everyone else goes through. And music can either be a way that they deal with those problems, or it might cause some of them. But, either way, music is never a passive force in their lives. It’s constantly demanding, fulfilling and intoxicating. I can’t imagine living without it.

Sorry for the “deepness”, there. It kind of slipped in. If it makes you feel better, just pretend that I was talking about the weather.

Track List: