I’ve never been to Manchester’s Castle Hotel before tonight; all I know is that it’s a 70 capacity room so it should be pretty special. Man Made are one of the best new bands coming out of Manchester right now – starting this tour off by supporting Jake Bugg, they’re definitely going places. Man Made is Nile Marr’s project that’s been going for a couple of years now and it just keeps getting better and better. After knowing his music for a few years and missing them at Leeds festival, I’m really excited to see what they can do.
Manchester talent is rife tonight, starting with support band Flesh. The boys walk in from the back as there’s no real backstage area, 3 in similar shirts/jeans/caps and their bassist in trackies and bling. I love it. My friends aren’t keen on the look, but I think they all look mega. That’s beside the point: what is important is that their sleazy, slacker pop sounds really great for such a new band. The confidence exerted from Flesh is admirable – they’re not afraid to kick off their shoes and show some real energy (and odd socks). Songs ‘Champ’ and ‘Vauxhall Casanova’ are the highlights – real melodies, squealing guitars and sleazy vocals combine to make catchy as tunes. Because of the small stage size, singer Robbie and bassist Harrison take turns in jumping off stage and having a dance around in the space between stage and crowd. The guys go all out, swinging instruments from side to side (with my friend narrowly avoiding a literal case of bass face).
After a short break spent chatting to Flesh and getting demos made of dishcloths, Marr and co. enter the room to a good ol’ Manc cheer. Nile looks like a glittery Legolas with his long hair and gold sequin jacket; I later realise that his outfit is the same as the artwork for their new single ‘TV Broke My Brain’ – clever, eh. Now a three piece band, Man Made have really found their sound and refined it pretty much perfectly with an added bassist and incredible drummer. They play a real variety of songs, but that identifiable sound is still there. This is mainly down to Nile’s recognisable vocal, it’s high pitched and melancholic but Marr can release real vigour into his performance giving the opposite effect. His voice is versatile and perfect for the diverse sounds they make as a collective.
The set tonight showed off this versatility; from tracks like ‘Plastic Key To Living’, which is dark and gloomy with the band almost sounding like a British Placebo at times, to ‘Slowdance’. ‘Slowdance’ is a beautiful, sweet song created by Marr using his loop pedal for most of the song – adding layers and layers of shimmering guitar to create an incredibly emotional song: “this is life are you ready to slowdance, and forget how we used to be”. After some tip top advice on not calling Welsh people sheep shaggers, Marr informs the crowd they’ll be playing new single ‘TV Broke My Brain’, which gets a great cheer from the small room of Mancs, a real welcome home. This is one of the band’s best songs – starting off with a dirty bassline leading into a catchy chorus, we can hear the rough and ready in Marr’s voice. I really do hope Man Made get the recognition they deserve for their own music, I know Manchester is right behind them.
Elli Brazzill
@littlelionelli
Elli Brazzill
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