music moots with Maneater ("Godzilla Rises" by Being Dead)
We are extremely back with Music Moots™, the blogseries where I ask someone to recommend me a song they like, and then I listen to the song and then write a little about it.
Today we have Maneater! Maneater are DJ On and Lindsay Stewart, from Vancouver. They put out a self-titled album in 2017; after a bit of a hiatus, they released their first single in seven years at the end of last year. More singles have since been revealed, and the latest is "Blueprint." "Blueprint" sounds like a song you would play if you were celebrating the sun coming out from behind some thick clouds. The guitars are noodling all over the place. The high-low trade-off vocals scratch a certain melodic itch. The pace could set you up for a pretty decent 5k race, brisk without too much rushing. It's everything you could ask for out of a sub-three minute rock song.
Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 27, 2024
I asked Maneater for a song recommendation and they delivered, with a rec for "Godzilla Rises" by Being Dead: "This track is from last year's release, EELS. The whole record is incredible, but the opening track is the standout for me for the tastefully simple, yet infectious melodies and perfectly executed vocal harmonies."
caltom89
I had the Being Dead record on my "need to listen to it" list for some time, so this was a nice alley-oop. I was not disappointed..."Godzilla Rises" is awesome. Harmonies stack in satisfying ways, like a well-played game of Tetris. Vocal parts dodge in and out of fuzzed-out guitar. Somehow the song composition splits the difference between 1960s rock'n'roll band and 1960s advertising jingle, with grit and sheen in equal measure.
The rest of EELS beckoned after "Godzilla Rises" was complete, and wow what an album. It's music in such a classic genre mode—garage rock, heard of it?—but it never gets stale because Being Dead prioritize the Most Interesting Choice at all times. So you get shifting tempos and time signatures, freaky chord changes, and a goofy charm that never extinguishes. The whole thing has exclamation points built into the material.
And it all kicks off with an ode to Godzilla. I watched the kinda recent movie where Godzilla fights King Kong. I believe it's called Godzilla Vs. King Kong. I was rooting for the big monkey when I watched, because he seemed more human and therefore knowable to me. It would be nice to be scooped up and cradled in one of King Kong's large hands...a lizard equivalent of this motion was not apparent to me at first viewing. But when the monsters teamed up for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, I started to understand how someone could learn to adore Godzilla. After all, he can't help who he is, and he can't be anybody but himself. A little prickly, but aren't we all sometimes.
Thank you Maneater! Make sure to follow them for future releases.
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