Artist: Manburger Surgical
Album: MNBGR Music
Tags: Space, Rock, Experimental, Jam, Electronics, Improvisation, Avant, Progressive, Psychedelic
WTF Qualities: Open song forms, use of interesting samples throughout, experimental use of electronics, large arsenal of unique instruments used
Year: 2010
Country: USA
Link: http://manburgersurgical.com
Ok, so, starting with this review I've decided to include the same labeled information I use for reviewing albums in the WTF Albums List.
I don't know anything about this band and for the sake of this review and my own enjoyment I will keep it that way.
As a musician who appreciates listening to music as much as I make it I feel that it's rewarding to be an active listener. Interactive listening so to speak. One way of doing this is to create a world around the band I'm listening to. To not be concerned with the facts and let my imagination go with the imagination of the music. From my understanding, this was more prevalent in the days when many listeners only had a radio to get their music fix from. There was no internet or cable TV to tell them everything they needed to know about the artists and bands they were listening to. They were forced to use their imaginations and to stick with these ideas.
With Manburger Surgical this is a very easy game to play because their music is so imaginative.
Dense yet open space clouds of psychedelic rock. A kaleidoscope of instruments well recorded that shift and thread a tapestry of dark colorful sound collages. Sounds impossible, doesn't it?
Manburger Surgical are a band of misfit circus freaks who were expelled from their circus duties because of various wrong doings - something very taboo and dark perhaps, maybe even child molestation and torture. They started their own pact as a traveling show because this was all they knew how to do, and after all, they couldn't possibly be accepted in the world any other way as mutilated, extreme pierced and tattooed freaks with no manners.
They stole the decaying and rusted amusement ride vehicles from the circus trash dump. Rigged them up so they can travel the highways of America and play their demented music to the audience of the open roads.
They hold deep secrets to the world in their music. This comes from traveling from town to town and intense pain of self mutilation, opening the third eye and living in a society that doesn't except them other then a freak show to laugh at.
Three midgets perched on decaying horses of the mobile carousal laugh at the sped up carousal music that crumbles out of the speakers while they spin around wildly as they are traveling down the highway.
The man with four arms in the top car of the rusted mobile ferris wheel plays guitar and bent circuit instruments at the same time along with the carousal music buzzing along the highway with wind blowing in his natty hair.
The bearded bee lady flies around the vehicles playing along with the music using her on buzzing sound and occasionally dumps honey on unsuspecting cars that drive by the spectacle.
The tattooed tiger half man half woman behind the wheel, Cassidy style, with cigar in his/her mouth plays drums as s/he drives in his/her custom made drum kit truck booth.
Pass-bys in the traffic look on in bewilderment.
WTF!
I could go on but I should leave some room for you.
Download this album and get sucked into the magic.
So, my review is finished - I allow myself some fact gathering of Manburger Surgical.
Judging from videos and photos their live performances seem pretty interesting and freaky. They somehow incorporate puppets into their act. In fact, it seems to be a very important element of the music.
From the looks of what I can see - my imagery wasn't that far off!
-onionpalac
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