MANTA
Classic Battles
( [the original] Marriage Records ) 2005

Pug -versus- Bat. Lion -versus- Octopus. A pair of hares -versus- the mutli-headed Cobra.. .

No matter what MANTA (solely Marianna Ritchey - written and recorded by) chooses to display as a front for an epic set of Classic Battles, once her memorable vocals - saturated in natural lyrical imagery - penetrate the air, you are more drawn to the cause of modern man -versus- the timeless environment.. .

"I want to die. I want to die - peacefully.
To lie in the silent ground,
and have the dry grass grow up straight and tall
above me as my skeleton slowly sinks smoldering into the Earth.
My soft hands on my chest becoming brittle sticks."

With the crafty hand of Jon Bectholt (YACHT, all-around nice guy) on 3 of 8 total tracks - expecting a pleasant array of mechanical beats would be precise. Fans of YACHT should grasp the slight return of a past composition that enters momentarily on the six-minute tale "sad river" [forward to the 5:30-ish mark.. .]. Orphaned puppies sea lions (.. .orca?) as a call for a chorus, "Like A Knife in the Water" crosses many musical divides - those in which Eno & Byrne would be quite fond and equally proud of.

A digital landscape, sonically enriched with harmonious tales and gorgeous vocals - MANTA is an many-ringed event to behold.

Battle? Unlikely. Classic? Undoubtedly.

kaleb :: October 1864