Manian & the Monumentals - The Crime and The Season

Manian & the Monumentals

The Crime and The Season
self-released; 2014

3.5 out of 5

By Jerrica Tisdale

In 2013, tired of his music being limited and restricted, Manian Van Hacker decided to become an independent artist. Then he enlisted Jim Bedorf (drummer), Curtis Tankersley (bassist) and Derek Euston (guitarist) to join his band. They became Manian & the Monumentals. In early 2013, they began writing, mixing and developing tracks for their first EP, The Crime and The Season. The EP combines rock, blues, jazz, indie, pop and many other genres to form a uniformly composed album with complex, poetic lyrics.

The six tracks on The Crime and The Season speak to listeners about complicated, universal topics, such as life, death, love and heartbreak. "Stay With Me Tonight," "The Last Alive," and "Long Way Home" dissect the intricacies of a relationship. Generally, these tracks are about how the end of a relationship affects the individual, and not the couple. "Stay With Me Tonight" takes a fascinating method of storytelling by setting the song's lyrics in a flashback, flash-forward style. Some of it indicates that the narrator remembers a breakup while seeking someone new. "Bipolar Rendezvous" and "Sleep Creeping Danger" both explore individualized problems and wonderings. "Bipolar Rendezvous" seems like a song about a child who faced a lot of hardship because of their parent's issues. "Sleep Creeping Danger" seems to play with the idea of sleep as in actual sleep, and sleep as in death. The lines in the songs have double meanings that could refer to things you see in dreams and life encounters. 

The Crime and The Season's biggest strength is its lyrics. However, it also blends really crafty beats. "Bipolar Rendezvous" takes calming sounds and jams them with intense instrumental strumming. "Sleep Creeping Danger" has a kind of Latin aura with its instrumental usage, which blends well with Van Hacker's vocals. "The Last Alive" has all the hype of a smooth bluesy sound. "Long Way Home" creates the signature rock sound by adding a guitar solo in it. 

Manian & the Monumentals' The Crime and The Season EP doesn't shy away from gripping lyrics with equally captivating beats. It highlights the magic that happens when you're limitless. 

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