Review: Manarovs – “Manarovs”

Mom’s Basement Records, 20 May 2022

Manarovs offer up the punk rock, keeping it simple and right.

Mom’s Basement continues their hot streak with the new Manarovs album.  I don’t know who Manarovs are or what mission they’re on, but this Georgia band has the goods, playing the kind of hardened Ramones-style punk rock that gets me going just right.  The riffs are heavy and the guitars sound like chainsaws, the bass pulses and throbs, and the drums pummel and obliterate with power and anger.  And overtop it all are alternating vocalists who shift responsibilities from song-to-song.  One of them has a sort of clean and crooning bellow that reminds me of Joey Ramone one moment and then of Greg Attonito (of Bouncing Souls) the next.  The other has a more ravaged and stretched tone that gets me thinking of Dennis Lyxzén of The (International) Noise Conspiracy somehow.  All this to say, Manarovs is right-on in its simplicity.  

Manarovs bursts from the jump.  Hard-hitting opener “Planet X” leads with a 1-2-3-4 and has a mean guitar riff and shambolic cymbals while the drums do a quick-stomp and bludgeon the ears with some real power.  And those vocal hooks are to die for.  The same could be said for the follow-up, the rushing “Count Back”.  “Operation: Lightning Bug” fits in with a simple and repetitive sci-fi bug-out that keeps momentum going with a blitzing assault and straight-forward words of danger and warning.  Elsewhere, “Leave Me Alone” sounds like a Riverdales song – the riffs are in the right places and the vocals on the chorus hit real good.  Each of these is laser-focused and powerful – the sound of no frills punk rock.  

Then there’s “Bad Moon Baby”, maybe the most melodically hooky song on the album.  The repeated “bad moon baby, yea” chorus has a hook that digs in deep and the lead guitar during the bridge sounds so right.  But there’s nothing soft here – it’s a stampeder – and maybe my favorite song of the whole thing.  And if it’s not my favorite, then “Flying Solo”, “Worth The Wait” and “Never Get Out” are worthy contenders.  “Flying Solo” chugs with muted riffs on the verse and then a buzzing ascending riff on the chorus that gets coupled with a great vocal melody while “Worth The Wait” and “Never Get Out” have fantastic singalong choruses.  Early single “The Same Sky” is another top flight song.  It’s a mid-tempo number that stretches nearly a minute longer than anything else on the album, but it’s dynamic and melodic and singalongable and keeps me listening.  I like it a bunch.  Oh, and I can’t leave out first single “Wallbreaker” with its back-and-forth vocals on the chorus that crept into my skull after a first listen and keep popping up every so often ever since.  

I’ve listened to Manarovs a bunch over the past couple of weeks – probably tops in my recent rotation – and I’m all for it.  Fans of Ramones, or more recently bands like Black Russians and Zoanoids, will find an awful lot to like here.  The songs are tight and concise, the back-and-forth vocals keep things interesting, and the hooks are devastating.  I think this one’s maybe eyeing a spot on my year-end favorites.   

Favorite song: “Bad Moon Baby”, for today anyway

Favorite moment: the chorus of “Wallbreaker” just sticks

Favorite whatever else: the mean-Ramones guitars buzz with a spot-on tone throughout