Badman Records, May 1, 2020
Mandelbaums say they are “the world’s greatest Seinfeld-themed punk band”. I believe them. Who else would do this?
Mandelbaums are the world’s greatest Seinfeld-themed punk band, or so they say. I’m likely to believe them, as they are pretty fun, and I don’t know any other punk bands trying to hold so tight to the Seinfeld theme. Coming from Victoria, British Columbia, Mandelbaums marry silly fun lyrics from Seinfeld episodes to Ramones-esque music. It’s a gimmick, and a pretty dumb one at that, but it actually sort of works surprisingly well.
On The Timeless Art Of Seduction, their fifth overall release since 2013, Mandelbaums create some indelible pop punk goodness. They mostly sound like a slightly tamed and clean Ramones (maybe an early 80’s pre-Too Tough To Die Ramones). The guitars are good and simple and pretty clean, mostly with a little less of that buzzsaw sound. And the singer has a bit of a Joey Ramone thing, but even more than that, he reminds me of Billy Jeans from Mean Jeans (and really now that I think of it, they sort of sound similar musically and share a similar sense of humor as well). The sound is catchy and full of hooks coming from all directions. I’m kind of stupefied at some of the inane Seinfeld-isms I end up singing along with.
With records like this, so much of the success comes from the successful and funny appropriation of the source material. And on Art Of Seduction, Mandelbaums really do well using phrases and stories from Seinfeld to inform their songs. “Bosco Baby” has catchy pop punk melodies singing a chorus “Bosco baby, Bosco baby, she’s my Bosco baby, yeah” and Seinfeld story words like “why can’t there be something just for me?, is that so selfish, is that so mean?, you know I couldn’t tell her my code”. It’s great. Other songs follow suit. “Pimple Popper M.D.” is another earworm while “It’s Go Time” gives up “you think you’re better than me, even when it’s bolted down” and “Jerk Store” offers “oh yeah, that’s what I should’ve said, the jerk store’s running out of you, but when the ocean called, I got a little stalled, I still had some shrimp to chew”.
And with all of this funny pop goodness, Mandelbaums save some of the best stuff for the final push. “Rochelle, Rochelle” has some of my favorite hooks on the record and “Serenity Now” gives up couplets like “why can’t I be more like Lloyd Braun, makin’ sales, the phone’s not even on” and “hoochie mama I just can’t let it go, bottled up and now I’m gonna blow”. But the song that probably sticks with me more than any other (save for “Bosco Baby”) is “Man Hands”. It’s a fast, sort of manic song, loaded with pop hooks, some sweet lead guitar, and a great key change near the end. Plus, they sing “crackin’ beers and breakin’ bread, her hands are bigger than my head”, and I love that line.
The Timeless Art Of Seduction is a bunch of fun. This isn’t rocket science and there’s no angst or political message. Just hooks that sink in, leaving you singing along with this way more often than not.
You might like this if:
- You dig Seinfeld and you dig Ramones, Mean Jeans, or both, and you’re okay with gimmicks
You might not if:
- You don’t like Seinfeld (are you one of those “it’s so overrated”-types?) or Ramones/Mean Jeans or gimmicks
ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
