Man Man

Adventurous songwriting and atypical arrangements served as foundational elements when experimental indie band Man Man began crafting a sound that would set them apart from their peers. Centered around the boundary-pushing tendencies of bandleader and principle songwriter Honus Honus (real name Ryan Kattner,) Man Man matured from their wild and surrealistic early albums into relatively more pop-minded material on 2011′s Life Fantastic.
Man Man was formed by Honus in 2003 in Philadelphia, with his role of singer/keyboardist being augmented by a host of instrument-switching musicians that included iberius Lyn, Clint Killingsworth and Steven Dufala. Drawing from an eclectic mix of inspirations, the band’s earliest days were defined by boisterous, high energy performances and a feral mixture of freaked out rock and bastardized ragtime piano songs. This wild style was in full effect on their 2004 debut The Man in a Blue Turban with a Face, as well as its 2006 follow up Six Demon Bag. By that time Lyn had been replaced by new drummer and songwriter Pow Wow (Chris Powell), and as they established themselves over the next few years, the eclectic quartet welcomed Brown Sugar (Adam Schatz) and Shono Murphy (Bryan Murphy) to their line-up after the exit of Killingsworth and Dufal. After the release of Six Demon Bag, the band began touring steadily, opening several tours in support of Modest Mouse as well as headlining smaller tours of their own. As their popularity grew they also had songs of theirs used in various commercial and television placements. Over the course of 2008’s Rabbit Habits, 2011’s Life Fantastic, and 2013′s Oni Oni Pond, the band segued into a more standard pop approach without compromising its bizarre musical style. As Man Man transitioned into a somewhat more sophistocated sound, Honus began releasing solo material, including several solo albums and a record of children’s music. In 2020, the band was staitoned in Los Angeles and signed on with Sub Pop for the release of their sixth studio album (and first new material in over seven years,) Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between. ~ MacKenzie Wilson