This 7" is one of the absolute best I've heard this year. Manipulation hails from Chicago and includes current and ex-members of bands like This is my Fist, Chronic Seizure and Civic Progress. I wouldn't have guessed from just listening to this, but apparently the band's singer is the same guy who used to sing for Pedestrians (also a great band by the way). Both vocal-wise and musically however, the stuff on this 7" is way more brutal and a lot less melodic than any of the stuff Pedestrians ever did.The comparrison that's most acurate to describe the band's sound would be Talk is Poison. Manipulation has a similar approach to their music, in that they mix elements of a more crusty sound with straight up hardcore. The result is a sound that is punk as fuck without sounding retro (as so many bands do these days). Some of the stuff on Partners in Crime a few years back, like the No Parade 7" and Balance of Terror stuff also serve as good reference points. Considering how much I like those bands, it's no surprise I love this 7" as well.
The lyrics are bleak and have strong socio-political connotations, although in most songs, they remain somewhat vague in their exact meaning. There's definitely no sloganeering going on here, although the general sense of despair and anger certainly comes across well.
As said, this is one of my favourite 7"-es of 2010 and I can't wait to hear more from this promising band. Also check out their demo which features different versions of three of the five songs on the 7" (i.e. 'Secrets', 'End this Night' and 'Choking Man').
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