Butterfly (A New Beginning) - Mansun, Chad, Dominic
I Can Only Disappoint U - Mansun, Chad, Dominic
Comes as No Surprise
Electric Man
Love Is...
Soundtrack 4 2 Lovers - Mansun, Chad, Dominic
Forgive Me
Until the Next Life
Fool
We Are the Boys
Goodbye
Third album for UK indie guitar-pop act, their follow up to the 1998 release, 'Six'. 11 tracks including the first single, 'I Can Only Disappoint U'. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.
Third album for UK indie guitar-pop act, their follow up to the 1998 release, 'Six'. 11 tracks including the first single, 'I Can Only Disappoint U'. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.
"Mansun have never exactly gone along with other fashion trends. In 97 they released there debut album "Attack of the Grey Lantern" an album of astonishing confidence that dealt with subjects like stripping vicars, chickens and characters named Egg Shaped Fred. It astonished everybody by going into the UK charts at number one. How do they follow this up in 1998? With possibly the most deranged act of genius to ever come out of British music. "Six" was the album, a 70 minute opus that fused together about a hundred different ideas into onecrazed masterpiece. If you are looking for raw creativity forget "OK Computer" because Mansun make Radiohead look like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. While other groups remained content in recycling the same old garbage Mansun hauled former Dr. Who star Tom Baker into the studio and got him to read poetry about Brian Jones' death over a harpsichord track. This all going on while an opera star performs as well. Granted, this may not be for everyone but at least nobody could ever argue that Mansun are not creative."Little Kix," the groups third album sees the group coming down to earth and returning to a more conventional song-writing style. By conventional I mean that most of the songs here follow the verse, bridge, chorus method of song writing. Even while writing "normal" songs Mansun still prove that they are better than everybody."Butterfly (A New Beginning)" begins the album in fine style. The song is a slow spiritual song that seems to be hinting at things to come. Then we arrive at comeback single "I Can Only Dissapoint You," a supposed love song that still manages to chuck out lines like: "Tonight, I found a gun in my hand/Tonight, with piggies scrolled on your wall/Tonight, her note said better off dead/Tonight, the earth has never moved for me since." The song is wonderfully self-depprecating and has the most atmosphere on the album. There are absolutely no tracks here that bog down the album. "Electric Man," the second single, moves along beautifully and is also the poppiest song on the album. Who would have guessed that the same group who sang about murder merely two tracks earlier are now dispensing lines like "Bring your sunshine to me." If you've heard "Head Music" by Suede do you remember how out of place "She's in Fashion" sounded? "Electric Man" has the same type of effect, a glorious pop song in the middle of more romantic surroundings. "Love is..." is a strange Jamiroquai-esque track. Perhaps the only thing Mansun have ever done that can truly be described as funky. "Fool" is a another track that wallows in self-pitty but is all the better for it. "Soundtrack 4 2 Lovers" is a massive, epic rocker. This song truly seems to sum up the romantic sentiments of the album. "Soundtrack" would not be the same without the string section which add a luscious feeling that Richard Ashcroft didn't even come close to having on his last album. "Until the Next Life" is another slow burner that is just great.The last two tracks are both very interesting. "We Are the Boys" is a slow, anthemic ballad that annoys at first but gets better with each listen. Closer "Goodbye" is simply tremendous. It has an old school romantic sound to it, it seems like the type of song people would dance to at prom in the 1950's. "Little Kix" is truly great. Mansun are so ahead of their peers creatively that it just isn't funny. If "Grey Lantern" was a journey through a fictitious town, "Six" was a paranoid trip, "Little Kix" is their romance album."
Mansun - Little Kix
Bob Thompson | 08/25/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Different. That's the first word that springs to mind after first hearing Mansun's new album - 'Little Kix'. But that shouldn't surprise anyone who knows Mansun - they have always kept themselves different than anything else out there. Each of their previous albums has been different than the previous. This one is quieter, a lot more melodic than it's predecessors. The songs seem connected to each other as an entire piece of music other than standalone songs. I'm sure those already familiar with Mansun won't dare miss anything new the band produces. To those who don't know them well, this is a good place to start..."
Solid Follow-Up to the Magnificent "Six"
john | Texas | 11/18/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"After recording "Six", inarguably the greatest album recorded in the 90's, the foursome sought out to write something completely different...a guitar-based pop album. And on the whole, it works. This album not only proves that Mansun can write something that everyone can sing along to, it proves the fact that they are the most dynamic, unpredictable, well-rounded band to emerge in the past five years."
Still Improving
stephen Garry | Manchester England | 01/05/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Mansuns quality seems to be constantly improving. After Attack Of The Grey Lantern and Six i didnt think that Mansun would be able to improve on their past offerings, but they have proved me wrong, Little Kix has got to be one of the best offerings that Mansun has produced. Featuring the singles I Can Only Dissapoint You and Electric Man its easy to see that from these two tasters that they are at the peak of their career"
Great album
Angela Schmidt | Knoxville, TN | 08/11/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Every song has a hook, and you can really feel the emotion in the slower tracks - in the lead singer's voice. Each song just reaches into you and pulls you into the music. It's an unstoppable force. It's Mansun."