Tuesday 4/27: Mannequin Pussy—"Perfect"
Today, we share our thoughts on the latest single from Mannequin Pussy’s Perfect EP.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him), Eric Bennett (they/them), Michael Brooks (he/him) and Miranda Reinert (she/her). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. On Substack, we’re also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc. Three days of the week are free but you can get access to all five weekly posts by subscribing for $5/month via Substack or $2/month via our Patreon.
Today, we share our thoughts on the latest single from Mannequin Pussy’s Perfect EP.
Mannequin Pussy—"Perfect"
Eric Bennett:
Mannequin Pussy is one of the few bands that don’t have any songs I dislike. While I haven’t heard the entirety of the Perfect EP yet, its title track is keeping the streak alive. This song is great and is part of a great tradition within the band's catalog; songs that are short bursts of catchy, manic punk. I’ve been thinking lately that Mannequin Pussy is the closest thing we have to Hole these days, and this song's lyrics about glamour and sex feel particularly Courtney Love inspired, though Hole never rocked quite this hard. Also, the song's video is campy fun, full of drag queens and an explicit Romy & Michelle referencing plot. I don’t think I can be any more excited to hear more music from them, but this does ratchet my anticipation up just a little further.
Eli Enis:
This might seem counterintuitive to my tastes at this point, but I think I prefer the slower Mannequin Pussy songs at this stage in their career. The Philly group started as a noisy punk band who wrote sub-two-minute songs that crashed and burned into one another, and on 2016’s Romantic they somehow transformed that approach into a pop format. On 2019’s Patience, the most compelling songs are the slow-burners and the power-pop jaunts, and I’m kind of feeling the same way about this new EP. “Perfect” is a totally competent and briefly thrilling punk burner, but it doesn’t leave the lasting impression that the EP’s first single “Control” did for me. I’m sure there are people who still come to this band for the screeching energy of their early days, but for me, the most remarkable thing about them is how well they’ve outgrown that urgency and become one of the best rock bands (minus the punk) in the game.