Hey, you got your blue-eyed UK funk in my throwback new wave!
Such is the case with the crush-collision of sound that is Bay Area duo, MANICS, who bring together the best of these seemingly disparate styles into one cohesive roar.
On the group’s Binary EP, that ambitious mix turns out a collection of tracks that recall the glory years of new wave pioneers like New Order, Heaven 17, and Depeche Mode across its five tracks.
“The identities we portray to the world vs. our personal realities can be dichotic at best, and bipolar at worst. We originally came up with the name MANICS because being in the manic, upside of manic depression is where a lot of creativity happens,” Jordan Deherrera and Chris Sanders declared in a joint statement. “Trying to hold onto that energy and focus it before you swing the other way into depression is really important.”
Swirling synths and pounding drum machines power the title track and “Deja Rendezvous,” while “Eleven Eleven” turns up the sexy over a percolating bass line and shimmering vocals that recall more modern electro-funk outfits like Zoot Woman and Private.
“‘Eleven Eleven’ is definitely a positive song, while ‘Embrace’ is really dark,” the duo revealed. “And since binary is just one or zero, it’s a great representation of these two halves of people’s lives.”
When they’re not forging icy slabs of post-modern funk-pop, MANICS are also the driving force behind their very own indie label, POPGANG Records.
Dig into the Binary EP below and ride the Technicolor wave.
