Man Man / Head On

I want to start by saying that 2013 has become a splendid year for music. There have been more than a handful of exquisite releases, and beyond those masterpieces many other quality records and songs. This song, however, deserves a special mention. It's the first single that in my mind merits me dedicating a full blog to (in The Musical Garden), and is the first release taken from the imminently released 5th album by the American band Man Man.

Now, the classic song is not easy to achieve. In fact, I often think about which are the classic pop songs of all time. Time is indeed a factor. It isn't easy to know how a song will age and then stand up twenty years or so later. There are songs by REM, The Smiths, The Beatles and a whole host of great songwriters that only seem to grow and improve with age, and perhaps this will be one of those songs of the future. Yes, it's that good.

The 4 minute pop song, 'Head On,' has everything, from sentimental lyrics to both a catchy verse and chorus, from delightful instrumentation to a fiercely beautiful and husky growl from the singer who in the past was not always capable of harnessing his talent, both as a songwriter and singer. Not only does the song have perfect verses and a chorus to match, if such a thing is even possible, but it has one final section, the middle eight, before the final repeat of the chorus takes the song towards its end. This section builds gently through the urgency of the vocals and drums and effortlessly merges into the final chorus, and once again it is utterly sublime.

Perhaps the wide eyed and fickle music buying public will mostly never even know about this masterful cut of pop music, but regardless of who it reaches here is a song with every chance of one day possessing the title of 'classic pop song.' All we can do now is await the album it was lifted from and hope the band managed to somehow make a cohesive piece of work to a similar standard. Once upon a time, this band was made up of endless ideas and a resulting messy feel to its records, but as it has aged it becomes a band capable of increasingly beautiful yet still challenging music, maintaining its identity but somehow pulling the reins in and displaying some focus that it once lacked.

So, to Man Man, for making a thought-provoking and heavenly piece of pop, in an age filled with all too mechanical methods. They prove that the heart beats louder than anything else.

Man Man release 'On Oni Pond' on September 9th and 10th, 2013, depending on where in the garden you grow.