THE MAN: Uptight!

The Man

Uptight!

© 2006 The Man

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Ferociously fun punk/new wave that will leave you dazed and passed out in a stranger's bed.

tracks

1 Uptight!
2 Death Dance
3 Last Song
4 Sparks
5 Modern World
6 First Rate Shit
7 Drive Me Home
8 Sex Politix
9 All Messed Up

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notes

The Man is a 4 piece from the city of the stars (although they prefer to not disclose their location.) In fact, they do not consider themselves musicians. More accurately The Man engage in cultural deconstruction as a form of revolutionary art, a highly decentralized experiment in social control mechanisms, inspired and motivated in & from: "Xanadu, World Domination, Methamphetamines and having really nice haircuts."

Comprised of J. Ray on Guitar/Vox, Joy Ray on Keyboards/Vox, Tate McLaughlin on Bass and Mike Hyde on Drums. The Man's debut album, "Uptight!" was produced by the feared and famed, Kooool G. Murder (the eels) and is being brought to the unsuspecting public care of Lars Mars' Makeout Records. While the band describes their music as "sonic narcotics overlaid with subliminal antisocial instructions," Christian Bordal describes it as "fun, pop-y, 80s synth and rock kind of new wavy with flashes of sounds that remind me of the B-52's, Gary Numan, The Strokes and the Raveonettes." The Man vehemently discounts his opinion, based on the fact that he is on NPR.

Musically, The Man are influenced by The Gun Club, Germs, X, Screamers, The Cars & Blondie. The band's name was originally derived from the Velvet Underground's "Waiting for my man." They comment on the obvious glorification of song title subject matter, "However, that does not mean that we are exclusively adoring of drug dealers. Although, we do appreciate their services and style of dress." The Man is also a statement on/against/about politicians, police, gangstas, white people and anyone else who is commonly thought of being "the man." The album name, "Uptight" has a simplified base. According to the band, "Uptight is how we make people feel. And how most people make us feel."

The Man takes no credit for Uptight's nine sonic offerings. Accrediting the song writing process as a "reception of songs via a mail order song delivery service run over the internet. We believe they are typically acquired in Indonesia or Thailand, places where songs can be purchased over the counter." But make no mistake, The Man are indeed attached to their songs and they want them to have an effect on the listener, "We hope that people feel scared, but like dancing." As far as confessional ratings per song, the band states, "every song is both completely true and completely false, in the most shallow possible way." "Modern World" (track 5) is recommended as the shallow soundtrack for the frustrated workforce. "First Rate Shit" (track 6) seeks to glorify dead-end recreational drug-use and antique cars. And (a lil personal info) some listeners perceive the song "Last Song" as an argument between Joy and J. Although since, as mentioned above, the songs are written abroad and purchased anonymously, (track 3) is more likely to be an argument between a Balinese tailor and his ruthless corporate elitist clientele.

As The Man's tour of the states and Europe is scheduled for February 2004, it is legally necessary to issue a fair warning. The Man's live show is dangerous. The fans are prone to inflicting physical violence on the band. When asked what was the biggest compliment or insult a fan ever gave them, they replied, "After seeing us play, most of our fans are drunk and therefore unable to speak. Usually they express themselves through vomiting or having sex."

The Man takes bubble baths every day and is frequently drunk before noon. They dine and dash. They are irritated by tow truck drivers, notes from the landlord and know-it-alls. Their long-term overall goals are plastic surgery and significant international real estate holdings. The Man dream of touring with Dave Eggers. Their dream tour vehicle is "the backs of the corporate elite" and the rider of choice? All the vicodin you can eat. The Man's literary selections are cereal boxes, shampoo bottles and FOIA documents. The Man think that Nick & Jessica are "a wonderful couple who deserve all the success in the world. That said, he has a disappointingly tiny wee-wee."

Lars Mars is the Founder and President of the Sweden Based, Makeout Records. Mr. Mars is independently wealthy and unashamed. He is on a mission (& a private plane.) He is currently in Bangkok and unafraid of interviews. Mr. Mars states, "Makeout Records will heat your mind and embellish your depleted soul until we all rise from our midnight vespers to face the new and exciting day." From his "horrible vacation home in Singapore" this is how Lars recently described his life, "The Cosmic Kiss. Born. Exploding here and there. Fast forward past boring childhood to NOW!" For Lars, and for the rest of the world, NOW! will be controlled or freed, revolutionized and overthrown by The Man.

reviews

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  • Perfect, retro-robot, Devo keyboards
    author: Britt Brown, Flaunt Magazine

    "Who put the 'bop' in the bop-she-wop-bop-bop? Who put the 'ram' in the ram-a-lama-dina-dang?" These are just a few of the mystifying and elusive koans posed by LA synth-squad The Man on their deftly dated debut, Uptight! For, much like Bobby "Boris" Pickett's haunting and unanswerable plea of '62, "What ever happened to the Transylvania Twist?" most of the Man's musical riddles invite - nay, impel - the listener to reflect upon times past, love lost, haircuts fogotten. For example, when singers J. Ray (who, yes, looks a great deal like a young Gary Numan) and Joy Ray dispassionately sing-song "better living in the modern world" over perfect, retro-robot, Devo keyboards, one is strongly struck by that eternal conundrum: does this band love the '80s, or do they simply love bands who love the '80s? (Like, who's a bigger influence: The Cars or The Faint?) It's pretty deep actually. Or else it's not, and The Man merely represent the nu-new-wave; which, to save hyphens, should probbly just be called "old-wave".

  • This album is a treat. Think Imperial Teen meets The Raveonettes.
    author: Elias Zajchenko, The Sentimentalist

    Having made the decision to name themselves The Man may have been a bit ballzy, considering the phrase points to a high profile king or queen status in the way of slang. Whether it's a sign of over zealousness or unwillingness to take themselves seriously, god bless these guys. This album is a treat. Think Imperial Teen meets The Raveonettes. With beautiful bass accompaniment that serves as subtle sauce for the goose on tracks like "Sparks," this band has engineered ultra hip grooves and a beautiful balance of vocals between keyboardist Joy Ray and Guitarist J. Ray. Retro bop is the key element here and it's addictive and sweet. The Man sugar coats tracks like "Death Dance" to meet the equivalent of a high school dance musical that sounds like "We Go Together" from the Grease soundtrack. The difference is this version has much more groovy keyboard umph!!! to it. Lars Mars, owner of Makeout Records, has chanced on a group that is bound to give sustenance to ravers who crave an ample dose of indie or Brit pop rock. Seriously, Mr. Mars, you've hooked a big one here.

  • Catchy hooks and top-notch vocals
    author: Dean Ramos, VenusZine

    Although "neo-new wave" or "nu wave" bands are about as common as flawless complexions on WB teen soaps, very few of them actually manage to incorporate keyboards the way The Man does, while retaining the right to call themselves full-fledged rocknroll bands. But while The Man is capable of rocking out on numbers like "Death Dance" and "Drive Me Home" it also incites dance-floor tantrums on tracks like "Last Song." On its debut EP, Uptight!, the band plainly lays out such influences as the B-52's, Gary Numan, X, and The Cars, while also (with some clever tweaking) making the sound its own with some catchy hooks and top-notch vocals.

  • A clever collection of Nu New Wave jams made for herky-jerky dancing
    author: C.F., Frontiers

    It's always nice to start the year off with a sonic bang, and there are bangs aplenty on the debut album from the Man, a clever collection of Nu New Wave jams made for herky-jerky dancing. The Man are a four-piece band with dual lead vocals shared by J. Ray (guitar) and Joy Ray (keyboards). Their deadpan female/male counterpoints work well together, recalling at times the Human League and the B-52's filtered through the Rentals. Economically produced by Koool G Murder from the Eels, one can easily hear that band's influence on tunes like "First Rate Shit," with its creepy chord progression, and a sinewy riff played by a distorted bass. Musically spare, using minimal overdubs, the directness of the recording comes through like a torpedo, pumping up the low end. Gritty guitars cut through the mix and squiggly synth lines show that they've been studying the Cars and Gary Numan. Imagine if Imperial Teen decided to do a tribute to Devo and you've got a close approximation of what this sounds like. Lyrically simple, the songs encourage dancing ("Death Dance") and sex in cars ("Drive Me Home"), while pushing nebulous agendas for our future ("Modern World"). Like most of the early New Wave bands they're influenced by, the Man do have a pretentious side. (Their press info, for example, ditches personal information in favor of sentences like "The Man engage in cultural deconstruction as a form of revolutionary art.") All I know is that when I put this album on, suddenly all of the housework gets done in no time. Like aural methamphetamine, the music entices you to turn it up and dance around the room. The one drawback is length: With only nine songs in a little more than 20 minutes, it's over before you know it. No problems; it's just as good the second time around.

  • The jumpy pop verve of new wave with Modern Lovers guitars skittering up against
    author: Brian Baker, Amplifier

    The Man recall a time when new wave and punk coexisted for a brief moment, when bands could sound delightfully cheesy with loads of Farfisa and swooping synths and choppy guitar rhythms while dropping thoughtful and even serious issues into their lyrics. While the Man strenuously avoid anything resembling serious, they certainly pack plenty of everything else into their debut EP, Uptight! Punk's brevity and propulsion are evident in the disc's nine songs and 22-minute length, but the overwhelming texture of the Man's presentation is the jumpy pop verve of new wave with Modern Lovers guitars skittering up against Devo synths to a beat that the B-52's would find comfortable. The fabulously moody "First Rate Shit" sounds like a mind meld of early Human League and Units with a dash of creepy Cramps atmosphere, while "Sex Politix" is a punky minute-and-a-half John Doe/Exene dual lead from the Man guitarist J. Ray and keyboardist Joy Ray. Uptight! is a great introduction to the Man, and it's good enough and short enough to play twice and enjoy even more the second time.

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