So, we’re back after a well-earned breather.. and pretty much a full-on break from music too. Sometimes you need to reboot, and empty your head (which in our case wasn’t difficult ;) .) But we return with a mighty roar in the form of Mannequin Death Squad a male/female duo from Oz comprising of Elena Velinsky on guitar vocals and Dan Cohn on Drums/Vocals, although that actually could be switched around as the duo do to tend to swap roles during their set . Their debut EP/mini album at “Eat Hate Regurgitate” is an empowering explosion of raw energy, frothing anger and crucially, great tunes. You might hear shades of Blood Red Shoes, Deap Vally, Hole and even some heavy Zepplinesque riffs thrown in for good measure, mixed with the sort anger perhaps only previously experienced by those who have witnessed Eric Pickles apoplectic reaction to the announcement -‘the free buffet has now closed” :) . They’ve recently been to the UK playing a number of dates with Slaves and we bumped into them recently at a Black Honey gig. It must be said they seemed rather charming , certainly not full of the seething anger and visceral rage that erupts when they make music!
So just what is it that makes Mannequin Death Squad so angry ? El gave us the low down on the inspirations and themes behind the tunes on “Eat, Hate, Regurgitate”
“KYMS” – was inspired by living down on the coast of the Mornington Peninsula and witnessing tourists going there to be amongst the nature whilst at the same being massive litterbugs. It makes us angry. The blatant disregard and disrespect of our planet will destroy us all. If a by-product of what you consume is that it eventually ends up in the ocean or on the ground, then maybe you’d be better keeping your mouth shut and not eating it in the first place.
“Sick,” – on the surface is a playful pop punk song about a guy playing with a girls head however it’s not entirely about that. Other themes in there are a stab at consumerism and the power of branding! Cigarettes and Soda pops, its so easy to be force fed shit you don’t need from pop music…. Check out the video clip…. Zombies meet totalitarian consumerism, eat your heart out.
“Sky” – is just about being trapped in a time when your relationships with people are turning to shit … which is why there’s so much antagonistic attitude in the song!”
“Van Gogh “ – Is a melancholic reflection of 2 years spent in a really toxic environment, restless sleeps and introversion and “Down” – is a personal song about another relationship with someone that doesn’t quite leave your head.”
The EP’s theme on the whole is me and Dan channeling all our negative or nostalgic experiences, putting attitude into them and turning them into a tangible thing. A lot of it was based around fun heavy riffs that we loved jamming on together and then lyrics would seem to follow. Every now and then controversial themes like KYMS and SICK would slip in because we’re both just really frustratingly aware about whats going on in the world.”
Facebook | Twitter
