ManaLion - Album Review: Nothing II Lose
Nothing II Lose is the second full length album from this dynamic duo, hailing from Greytown and Whakatane. ManaLion is made up of Duan Kaka and Craig 'Mondo' Monika and they credit their influences from a wide range of musical styles from soul to funk to rap, even with a little hardcore thrown in for good measure.
The soul evidence is right there from the very first track Apple Tree, which comes with a slight reggae feel in the beat that gives it a laid back approach, and makes me think of sitting on a beach somewhere pining over a lost relationship “all alone sitting underneath an apple tree and I keep pining, waiting on you”.
The fifth track on the album, Hanvey HotLap, is once again another visually inspiring song as I can actually picture someone messaging their partner telling them they they’re going to be late home because their night out is going well “it goes 1 times 2, 3 times 4, I’ve got two dozen whiskey bottles knocking at your door, take 5 by 6, 7 more by 8, send a message to my girl because I’ll be home late.”
The eighth track on the album is Video Games, and it’s a song that I could hear being played at almost any bar, it has a real slow dance and sexy feel to it. This track is already my feel good dance song from this album, and I know that I’m going to play this a lot (as if I haven’t already).
The final song I want to talk about is the tenth track Long Way Home. The lyrics remind me of when a long term relationship breaks down and one person believes that everything that has gone wrong is the other person's fault and they refuse to take responsibility for their part. The emotional response I had with this song was a relatively strong one, but I mean that in the very best possible way. That’s why I really enjoyed this album as a whole, every single track enlists some sort of emotional response whether it makes me want to get up and dance or causes you to reflect on things from the past. This makes it an incredible release.
You simply can’t go wrong with this album, it’s got so much going for it and I've added to my personal list of favourites that I will be recommending to anyone and everyone I can.
About ManaLion
Between this deadly duo comes a combination of musical influences from Soul to Roots, Funk to DnB, Gangsta Rap to Hardcore. The cosmic couple have used these influences to create the sound they now describe as Alt/Pop Fantasy Reggae. They love, they live and learn by the pleasurable sounds of Motown, Bob Marley, The Police, AC/DC, Fat Freddy's Drop, Tom Jones, Soundgarden, Dr Hook, the future and the sound of bacon crackling.
Duan & Only is the key vocalist and song designer of ManaLion, his unique style of an over-confident Maori superstar combined with his carefree, say anything, do anything stage presence provides an open gate between audience and artist….”the Key Master”.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for ManaLion
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