Great Human Being

"Thanks to everyone and apologies to no one" Manor have stepped onto centrestage. This Keady quartet have been plugging away on the live circuit and in the recording studios for quite a while with ne'er a glance in the direction of the corporate music business for handouts. After the release of a 4 track EP, Delicately Poised in '97, they ripped it up on stage, wooing a credible fanbase and sending shivers down a lot of spines to boot.

Great Human Being is a no-nonsense rock'n'roll record with a refreshing line in lyrical content. Of 11 tracks, there are more than a handful that readily stand on their own merit.
'Scene Of The Crime' is an incendiary opener, with Gerry Kavanagh on lead vocals sounding like an early Bowie with a mission to lure the listener into an underworld where guitar chords compete with fog lights and slippery cobblestones for attention.
What's most striking though is the strength of the band's identity sustained over 11 songs. There's no messing with these boys. Their grand plan bursts forth from every track. And it's a simple one: to ricochet off the walls, riddle your brain and rumble any suspicions that Manor are here for the short haul.
There are occasional moments when Manor fall prey to familiar temptation, and that's to autopilot their way through a couple of songs that rehash and revisit the same soundscape that's been plundered by everyone from Def Leppard to The Buzzcocks and Stiff Little Fingers. This is whiney, industrial noise that blurs the boundaries between themselves and countless other bands. 'Destroy The Songs' is the main culprit of this malaise, and deserves to be jettisoned.
But misgivings aside, Manor have produced a fine debut with more than enough to whet the appetite for their live shows.