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Album Review

Manda Rin
My DNA This Is Fake DIY Records

Article written by Mary B - Oct 21, 2008

Manda Rin is a little bit adorable (even though I have to fight the urge to add "oranges" to the end of her name). Once that immature thought process dies out I can concentrate on her debut solo album and I find myself loving her a bit. She's no stranger to music. If you have a moment check out the band Bis. I don't want to waste my word count on her past as I am here to discuss this musical offering.

Let's get this straight, it's not an innovative album. It's not an album that sets the standard for albums to come, it's not pushing any boundaries or offering anything new. It is an impressive rehash, a mix-up of everything that has gone before. Amazingly influences listed include CSS but I think that you'll find that CSS have been influenced by the same people as Manda Rin. To put it another way this is electro pop/disco with its foot firmly in the eighties, in my humble opinion. The inspiration that I can hear screams out from the synthesisers and guitars of that decade and god help me sometimes I can hear early Madonna vocals in here. Some of the lyrics and music recall to mind when Madge was a girly girl making her way through the world to a disco beat.

'DNA' is a brilliant song, it's catchy, the lyrics have that lovely bouncy feel about them and Manda Rin's voice is 'punchy' even though the subject matter is a bit depressing to be honest. You find yourself shaking your hips and then going 'But wait a minute, she's depressed!' This contradiction in term follows me throughout the album listen. For instance my favourite track 'Less than zero' is a funky little offering but it's about the pressure that women face when it comes to physical representations of us. There is deep subject matter here coated in fluffy electro sounds. Her lyrical constructions are addictive. I find myself singing over and again 'Less than zero, Yeah you’re less than zero, For the sake of ego, For the sake of ego', not realising just how political I am being.

Another track that stands out is 'Guilty Pleasure'. With dramatic drums beats and keyboards to accompany distorted vocals it's a dance fest waiting to happen. 'Do the static' is the new romantics getting ready to go out to the sounds of robotic pop. In fact Manda Rin is a little bit like Pop Levi in the way that she takes tried and tested genres and merges them as one.

So overall this is a respectable debut album from a cute little vixen who has hidden agendas but runs them alongside some of the most catchy musical arrangements and interesting lyrics I've heard in some time. It will not change the world but it will make it a better place.

Links:
http://www.planetmanda.com/
http://www.myspace.com/musicmandarin