"Vancouver's premier hard-rock band" is on the road – again – and they’re more of a sonic tour de force than ever. With the winning addition of powerhouse drummer Jay Koenderman, this road-hardened quartet is earning a reputation as one of Canada’s most exciting rock ‘n’ roll bands.
After releasing two studio recordings – critically acclaimed debut Buried Love and recent EP Strange Disaster – The Manvils had a beer-flavoured taste of success in 2007. The band earned a starring role in the national Budweiser Guitar Maker commercial, and on the heels of their sudden popularity they hit the road with a vengeance. Manvil firepower smoked out New York, LA and Toronto three times this summer, and all points between. Stages shook, ears bled and crowds leapt to the sweet, stinging melody.
All that mileage has helped The Manvils to create that most elusive of rock phenomena: the buzz. The word is out about this band, and The Manvils have captured key slots with Stereophonics, They Might Be Giants, The Horrorpops, The Suicide Girls, Darediablo, The High Dials, and the Bellrays. One particularly memorable show saw The Manvils rock out with Anton Newcombe, frontman of Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Having risen to the top of the rock pile, The Manvils continue to sell out gig after gig with their unique blend of vintage blues and psychedelia, mixed with the bittersweet poetry of heartbreak.
The Manvils
Strange Disaster EP
Scratch / Sandbag
Hot on the heels of their career-peak-to-date Buried Love, Vancouver’s premier hard-rock band throws in a delicious aftertaster of an EP that should do nothing but add more gold stars to Mikey Manville’s ongoing rock’n’roll report card. “Strange Disaster” and “Hang on Man” are catchy love-hammers to the ear-balls that could’ve fit in just fine on Buried Love itself, but perhaps this is also an enticing glimpse of future Manvils albums to come, with big, full production by Sho Murray and Mikey himself. And the third song? It takes a lot of balls to record “Helter Skelter” without setting yourself up for merciless scorn and derision. Motley Crue couldn’t pull it off to save their asshole lives, but here’s the Manvils being smart enough to not attempt to out-do the Beatles (NOT going to happen), but their version of that proto-punk commandment gets a healthy A-minus; the song is a key point in the band’s live set, and it comes across marvellously here. The only bad thing about this EP is that by the time it’s over, the listener is just fired up and wanting more. Which might be part of Mikey Manville’s devilish plan for rock’n’roll domination.
- Ferdy Belland
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