weekly spotlight
Mannequin Shop
tattoo ep
Mannequin Shop is a chameleon. Americana, Country, Southern Rock–dipping into each of these genres and arguably more…
“Tattoo” is the titular track for the EP and representative of the journey Mannequin Shop has had us embark on. The song feels like the end of something. Beautiful songwriting to sonically conclude this EP, as well as lyrically.
It starts with hope, and ends in hope, but how that hope has changed, taken new shape, and changed again is fascinating and contemplative. Mannequin Shop manages to force these questions within the listener without ever feeling belabored or burdened by didacticism or parable.
The songs themselves are deceptively approachable, sonically pleasant–fun, even!–but they read like classic, untidy short stories from Hemingway or Steinbeck. They show complexity, tension, and struggle–all things that require hope, but what to hope for ultimately remains itself a question, asked and approached beautifully across the entire EP. - ED
Garden Tigers
30 miles
Garden Tigers absolutely fascinates me. Minnesota singer / songwriter Justin Jacobson makes what he describes as “Cosmic Country” - and certainly there’s ample justification for this clever and appealing self-definition. But it leaves perhaps too much of the splendor of Jacobson’s work unnamed.
2024’s Fade To Chaos album answered a lot of questions nobody knew we were supposed to be asking. Questions like “what if Dickie Betts and Lou Reed took over songwriting for The Doors” and “what if Lovecraft wrote the Book of Revelations and somebody turned it into lyrics". “Black Pyramid” is a truly astounding piece of horror/country/folk/rock songwriting.
The intervening single, “Different Colors” felt like a departure, a jangly piece of folk rock that feels like something that really ought to have been the anchor piece of a film score by now, but also just a gorgeous accomplishment. Listening to it, one feels compelled to check the credits, because it feels so iconic and timeless that you think “surely this is a cover?”
New single “30 Miles” is a bit of a reversion to form - and in spectacular style. That leadoff riff is just nasty, the organ classic, the whole thing a roiling sea of bad-assery. “Tonight I found peace in a chemical release… when I come down, I’ll be coming down for good.” - AGL