THE MANIKINS
As the saying goes, there must be something in the water that has so many great bands coming from Sweden these days, and The Manikins should be the hottest band of them all. Instead, these garage punks have been flying low and steady under the rock ‘n’ roll radar, cranking out a batch of singles and three albums that blew the ripped-up jeans off everyone who heard them. That is definitely not enough people!
The Manikins are Jocke on vocals and guitar, Kalle on guitar, Max on bass, and Tommie on drums. Crocodiles is the band’s fourth album, but it’s their first album to see a U.S. release. Anyone who has hunted down previous Manikins records knows a U.S. album is long overdue, which is why Full Breach Kicks is very excited to rock with The Manikins! They are sometimes compared to The Marked Men, The Kidnappers, The Devil Dogs, or The Hives, but new songs like “I Want My Baby Dead”, “Losin’ Streak”, and “Crocodiles” bring the band to greater and catchier punk rock heights. The band’s signature jagged guitars with ‘70s punk roots and sing-along vocals mixing garage punk and power pop will have any rock ‘n’ roll fan shaking their hips and pogoing around. Get your Manikins groove on now!
The vinyl LP comes with a digital download card of the entire album.
PRESS:
THAT’S COOL, THAT’S TRASH! – ABOUT CROCODILES:
The Manikins are criminally obscure. There is no reason why these guys shouldn't be as big as their fellow Swedes, The Hives. Crocodiles is the fourth full-length released by the group and contains just the right combination of garage rock, ’77 style punk, and power pop. Given all the harmonies and melodic guitar lines the band added since their last go around, Crocodiles has more hooks than a freakin’ tackle box. By now you may be able to tell how much I like to be hooked, and that’s why this is certainly my favorite album of the year so far! A+++ from start to finish with no room for filler. Bottom line, if you don’t go buy this album right now, you’re an idiot. Rating: What do you think?
RAZORCAKE – ABOUT CROCODILES:
Great record here from this excellent Swedish band. A strong mix of garage punk, power pop, and good ol’ 1977 style punk give this LP a great sound. There is just something extra here that makes this band stand out from the crowd. Far from just another Euro blown-out garage record, The Manikins have real songwriting ability. I cannot recommend this LP enough for fans of punk rock to sing along to.
MAXIMUM ROCK ’N’ ROLL – ABOUT CROCODILES:
Rockin’ garage pop from Sweden that sounds similar to The Hives. This is their fourth album and all parts, vocals, guitar, bass, and drums, function as they should for music like this. You can buy a ringtone of the title track on the label’s website.
ROCK REPORT – ABOUT CROCODILES:
Before I put Crocodiles in my CD player, I have to admit I had never even heard of these four Swedish rascals going under the moniker The Manikins (coming from the Dutch word “manneken” which means “little man”) and yet I loved them to death from the very start.
Wearing striped t-shirts, way too skinny jeans, and looking in desperate need of a good shower, this foursome plays their barely tuned guitars and spits their rowdy backing vocals like The Who (around their debut album) never existed, ‘60s teen punk was yet to be reinvented, and James Dean is a rebel with a cause and playing guitar with The Hives. Really... Anyway, this album is released in Europe through P. Trash and in the U.S. through the cool and seldom failing Full Breach Kicks. That latter fact alone will send a couple of you drooling to the next record store, because you want this little gem on vinyl. Naturally.
BOOTLEG BOOZE – ABOUT CROCODILES:
Though The Manikins may have grown up, they didn't feed their catchy bite to the crocodiles. On their already fourth album, the four Swedes definitely go sweeter and wear their hearts on their sleeves in a perfect blend of punk rock and power- pop that still carries the typical Manikins guitars but gained a mouthful of smoothness and feeling. Don't worry, the boys didn't mellow out and you still get faster tunes like the opener "That train", the title track "Crocodiles", or "Taste for Sweets" that are so unmistakably Manikins’ songs. But especially the slower pieces are the real meat here. "If I See You Cry" and "I Want My Baby Dead" are full of sweet bitterness and seem to come straight from any ‘60s teen punk compilation. The harmonic mid-tempo songs "Countless Nights", "Without a word", "You're Bad When You Want To", and "It's Not the Wind You Hear" remind of a more insurgent, yet in no way less sugary version of their countrymen The Lost Patrol Band, and in the heartbreaking "Losin' Streak", "Hangin' From a Noose", and "She Speaks Perfect French", you even get Bobby Fuller style vocal and guitar harmonies and castanets in the fills. Brilliant! The Manikins dared to go a step further and once more set a landmark in the little mundo punko with this new record that will shake your heart and legs!
AVERSION – ABOUT CROCODILES:
We tend to remember Britain's punk explosion of 1977 as a time when The Clash and The Sex Pistols challenged the status quo, when a new, revolutionary spirit was released to change rock forever and youngsters were sticking safety pins through their ears as a social, not a fashion, statement. There were dozens of punk acts that either helped create or simply adopted this agenda. But there were also a lot who, before the genre's parameters were codified and defined, used the punk explosion as just another reason to crank out raw rock and roll. The Vibrators, The Only Ones, and Eddie and the Hot Rods were all birthed dangerously close to punk's ground zero, but had little notion, if any, of doing anything but playing basic rock 'n' roll.
Sweden's The Manikins are a lot closer to that second batch of punks than the ones who'd go on to define 1977 in rock history. A trashy garage band that wouldn't be out of place in 1968, 1978, or 2008, the foursome has nothing on its mind but a love for classic, and classically noisy, rock ‘n’ roll. Shrill, super-clean guitars slice and dice their way through your eardrums and into your heart as these Swedes rock out with garage punk delight.
Worrying about where exactly to place The Manikins on the punk garage spectrum defeats the purpose of the whole band. It's all a matter of urgently making noise and of keeping rock's hottest fires burning. Of that, it does well. "Hangin' From a Noose" takes the straightforward and effective tunes from British Invasion bands like The Animals and Herman's Hermits and pumps them full of proto-punk energy. "Without a Word" and "That Train" are all speed-freak '77-era tempos, but the Crocodiles don't harbor any of that destroy, anarchy or revolution malarkey of punk acts, instead offering up worship to the rock gods. "Taste for Sweets" and "Crocodiles" make the most of the clean, low-sustain guitars, evoking a love of everything from '60s garage rock to '80s punk like the Dead Milkmen.
If punk rock could have maintained its lack of focus, if it could have been simply a back-to-basics rock movement instead of a driving revolutionary force, it would have fostered dozens of bands like The Manikins. It's probably better for rock history that the style found focus, though listening to Crocodiles, it's hard not to miss those less idealistic punk bands from the early days. Four stars!
LOWCUT – ABOUT CROCODILES:
There's a couple Manikins out there, and these ones hail from Nyköping, Sweden, and Crocodiles is their fourth album. I got a couple of their early LPs and seen them live once, which I truly enjoyed, and this is more the same uptempo punky power pop. Okay, this time is less punk rock and more melodic power pop. Man, sometimes I think I'm too old and grumpy for this cheerful shit, and I do hate pop punk with a passion, but The Manikins' brand of timeless power pop always manages to make me smile. Damn bastards! Four stars.
NO FRONT TEETH – ABOUT CROCODILES:
This is the fourth full-length from these uber-stylish Swedish garage power poppers, and you should be ashamed of yourself if you don’t own something by them. This new release presents them poppier then ever and better than ever too, and that’s really saying something because they have ruled since day one. Although their rasping garage edge ala Teengenerate is still very present, this record leans much more on the catchy pop hooks with lots of elements of The Byrds, Sparks, and The Beach Boys blended with a pure stripped-down modern power pop sound like The Exploding Hearts, The Marked Men, or The Nice Boys.
This is their first record to be released in the U.S., and Josh at Full Breach Kicks has some long-reaching rock ‘n’ roll tentacles! It’s fantastic this is getting released across the pond and really hats off to FBK for having the taste and enthusiasm to do so because it seems that so much mind blowing European stuff never leaves Europe, and that’s fuckin sad.
From start to finish, Crocodiles is a masterpiece, and if you seriously haven’t heard The Manikins before don’t just sit there ashamed, but buy this! Crocodiles is a fantastic place to start, but honestly, all of their releases are great. See, it’s a wonderful feeling when you know a band’s new record is going to rock, but when it flat blows you away like Crocodiles does, that’s something else. I cannot recommend this enough. I would list the highlights, but it’s the whole damn record. I mean, if one of my bands ever wrote a song like ”Losing Streak”, ”If I See You Cry”, ”Crocodiles”, or ”You’re Bad When You Want To”, I’d be proud for life. This is a modern rock ’n’ roll masterpiece and that’s not an exaggeration whatsoever.
ALTERCATION – ABOUT CROCODILES:
Calling all Hives fans, your new favourite band has arrived. Or at least mine has, and The Manikins breathe fresh, youthful air into a timeless genre that can easily fall into “one trick pony-ville”, especially without the benefit of the energy of the live show setting. Throw your doubts away, as this pitch-perfect foursome toss off high energy, pop-fuelled ragers with ease. Somehow appealing to fans of both The Briefs and The Sonics, The Manikins might just be the party band of the moment. Put me on the list +1!
RAZORCAKE – ABOUT CROCODILES:
Great record here from this excellent Swedish band. A strong mix of garage punk, power pop, and good old 1977 style punk give this LP a great sound. There is just a little something extra here that makes this band stand out from the crowd. Far from just another euro blown out garage record, The Manikins have real songwriting ability. I cannot recommend this LP enough for fans of punk rock to sing-along to!
VEGLAM – ABOUT CROCODILES: Crocodiles is actually the 4th album from The Manikins, and I have to admit with a bit of a shame, I didn’t get to know them until now. That’s a big mistake because this band is just brilliant. Undoubtedly impregnated with the music of bands such as The Real Kids, The Barracudas, The Saints, and The Devil Dogs, these dyed-in-the-wool Swedish guys are good at distilling pop punk melodies that are getting close to perfection, and Crocodiles has this rare thing that makes it an album that no one can dislike and that many will love. You almost had a heart attack when you found out that Céline Dion sang an AC/DC cover? Put these 12 tracks in your player as soon as possible – the ideal antidote for bad news, even the worst ones. PS: I speak French too, where can I meet Chloe?
NOW WAVE – ABOUT THE MANIKINS:
You probably think The Manikins are just another garage punk band imitating the ‘90s garage punk sound. They aren't the typical lo-fi garage punk band. First of all, their production is clean and there is lots of power pop with lots of energy. But there are also pure garage punk songs and lots of combinations of power pop and garage. The songs all have really good choruses that stick in your head for days. Probably that's the real difference; they have more melody and that helps to make better songs.
SLEAZEGRINDER – ABOUT THE MANIKINS:
A confession: I totally dig Swedish bands. They must put something in the food over there, because Sweden breeds great bands like standing water breeds the West Nile virus. I haven't heard a Swedish band that I haven't liked, and I was pleased to discover that The Manikins prove a delightful non-exception to the rule. Like The Hives without the spats and ties, The Manikins work the garage rock/pop/punk groove to perfection.
NOW WAVE – ABOUT THE MANIKINS:
These Swedes score a perfect ten on the enthusiasm scale. I’m feeling lots of wildfire energy here – the kind that’s always lacking in the music of all those urbane hipster bands that have been jumping on the “garage” bandwagon in recent years. Any band can regurgitate the three-chord formula, but it won’t ring true unless ya got the music in your soul. The Manikins are the real deal. They have a ‘50s-ish feel with a revved-up backbeat that’ll have you shakin’ your ass ’til you drop. This ought to thrill fans of the latest Kidnappers album. It's got great melodic guitar leads, a simple sing-along chorus, and a driving energy that's impossible to resist. It's like The Devil Dogs had sex with the Paul Collins Beat and made a baby. Seriously, I bet these kids tear the place apart when they play live! The Manikins are one of the most promising young rock ‘n’ roll bands I’ve heard in a long time! Enthusiastic raves from idiots like me aren't even needed – music this good sells itself!
