''Romantic'' is the second studio album by American
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band
Mannequin Pussy.
Reception
Writing for ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'', Zoe Camp rated this release an A−, calling it "an uptick in Mannequin Pussy’s caustic potential" with the addition of new band members that includes a blend of
Crass
Crass was an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977 who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestyle, and a resistance movement. Crass popularized the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, ...
-style
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
as well as "pop bliss".
Two critics at
NPR gave a spotlight to this music: Lars Gotrich of ''First Listen'' called the album "wildly diverse and cathartic" that expresses a variety of emotions across several
rock music
Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
genres
and Marissa Lorusso chose the title track for ''Songs We Love'' for the combination of "instrumental muscle" and "surprisingly vulnerable poetry".
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
's Raymond Cummings rated ''Romantic'' a 7.6 out of 10, stating that a "wild energy animates" the music and opining that this music gels better as an album than their previous release.
At ''PunkNews'', Renaldo69 made this a staff pick and stated that this is "a record that wanders more fleshed-out and diverse territory with a bigger, angst-filled story to tell", building upon the band's full-length debut.
Editors at ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' named "Romantic" the 14th-best song of the year.
At ''
Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...
'', the editorial staff chose this for album of the week, with critic Tom Breihan calling it "an album that just blasts along, never taking a moment to pause for breath" and comparing the music to
Blonde Redhead,
Helium
Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...
,
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...
, and
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
.
At ''
Uproxx
Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...
'', Caitlin White declared this the tenth best album of the month, stating that the "oscillation between hardcore interludes, pop punk riffs, and softly-sung choruses is so cathartic".
Track listing
All songs written by Marisa Dabice, Thanasi Paul, Kaleen Reading, and Bear Regisford, all lyrics by Marisa Dabice.
#"Kiss" – 1:16
#"Romantic" – 2:40
#"Ten" – 0:58
#"Emotional High" – 1:27
#"Pledge" – 1:20
#"Denial" – 1:58
#"Everything" – 1:21
#"Anything" – 2:02
#"Meatslave One" – 0:56
#"Hey, Steven" – 1:55
#"Beside Yourself" – 1:19
Personnel
Mannequin Pussy
*Marisa Dabice – guitar, vocals, recording,
mixing
*Thanasi Paul – lead guitar, recording, mixing
*Kaleen Reading – drums, recording, mixing
*Colins "Bear" Regisford – bass guitar, recording, mixing
Additional personnel
*Dan Angel – painting
*Chris "Doc" Baglivo – recording,
mixing
*Evan Bernard – recording
*Ryan Schwabe –
mastering
*Perry Shall – layout, design
See also
*
2016 in American music
*
List of 2016 albums
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2016 albums
Mannequin Pussy albums
Tiny Engines albums