It’s hard to believe this band has been around since 2009! I first heard of Mini Mansions a few years ago with a song off of their third full length album. Up until my recent obsession with The Last Shadow Puppets, I hadn’t really considered giving the rest of the band’s catalog much time. Obviously, that’s changed. Instead of starting with what I knew, I decided to start from the beginning with their self-titled debut album.
The thing I noticed from start to finish was how they could go from sounding bare-bones to full-on in the next bar. That couldn’t have been better represented with the first full song off of the album, “The Room Outside.” It started with almost a quiet element, but the last full minute at least was hard rock thrown right in your face with some intense guitar riffs. Rock was certainly present throughout the whole record, but overall it gave off a very strong cabaret vibe. I attribute that to the piano present in every track, but I couldn’t help but think they could be excellent tour mates with The Dresden Dolls (a girl can dream).
My favorite songs off the album were definitely “Monk” and “Majik Maker.” Both had some cool experimental vocals, but the first went to some really strange places sound-wise, while the latter had some truly hysterical lyrics. It definitely made them more memorable. With that being said, the rest of the album wasn’t all that memorable, although I did appreciate the trio of vignettes scattered throughout the track list. It broke it up a little bit, and the final vignette was even more unique in that it featured no vocals at all. I assume that one makes it into all of their setlists. Finally, the only other song that really stuck with me was the final track, “Thriller Escapade.” It managed to capture a bit of suspense and reminded me of Phantogram. That’s nothing to sneeze at!
As I dig further into the discography of everyone involved in The Last Shadow Puppets, I’m more and more surprised in the best way! I’m glad I started wading into the discography of Mini Mansions because I’m sure there are many more gems to be found as I work through their other two albums. This project, which also features Queens of the Stone Age’s Michael Shuman, seems to be the most “similar” to the Shadow Puppets, but they are clearly forging their own very unique path. I can’t wait to listen to more!