Bad Manners – Mental Notes
welcome back to the Skaject folks! this week we’re looking at Bad Manners’ 1985 album, Mental Notes!
What the Papers Say is a funky, EXTREMELY 80s track, and yknow i can’t deny this song is a bop, with those sharp, clean horn blaps and some really catchy melodies on the chorus. very fun time. Blue Summer is very pleasant but just fine, for me. Body Talk is another really stylish track – i can’t help but really enjoy this song, haha. Tossin’ In My Sleep is fine. love the little marimba trills here, and the it’s got a much more laid back tempo to it, but i’m not a huge fan. Tie Me Up is a good song – they do this kind of track surprisingly well. their cover of Todd Rundgren’s Bang the Drum All Day is very very fun – high energy, some good performances, very fun song. i’m less a fan of Destination Unknown. their slower tempo tracks are fine but i think it’s a sound that doesn’t fit them quite as well. Mountain of Love is a fun, sweet song. Work’s also nice. got a nice little progression to it. Saturday Night closes the record – no big thoughts on this one, it’s fine.
faves – What the Papers Say, Body Talk, Bang the Drum All Day
dislikes –
so, i know for a fact that i listened to this record in the original Skaject, as Bad Manners were one of the bands i covered, but it looks like i just… never wrote a review for it! i remember falling off Bad Manners’ discography pretty hard around this record – i didn’t think the genre shifts they were going through were working, and i remember the audio quality of the records wasn’t doing Buster Bloodvessel’s vocals any favors. but yknow, this time around, i’m definitely feeling differently, especially as i am listening to a bunch of other bands from around the same time try and do subtle (or not subtle) genre shifts to stay relevant – i think what Bad Manners does on this record works quite well, and i dig the way they’re growing and changing as the 80s progress and they incorporate pop sounds of that time into their music. plus, they do some nice content variation, from the vacation-y Blue Summer and Destination Unknown, to the more racey Body Talk and Tie Me Up. neat record.
Mental Notes – 6/10
since we’re still missing submissions in our Weekly Album review queue, i’m gonna go ahead and do a double Skaject this week – on Friday we’ll be checking out Bim Skala Bim’s debut album, Bim Skala Bim.
previous: Mad Not Mad | next: Bim Skala Bim
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