Good news for lovers of guitar rock: Philadelphia indie-punk trio Mannequin Pussy are back with their first new material in two years. Missy (vocals/guitar/keys), Colins “Bear” Regisford (bass) and Kaleen Reading (drums) will follow their acclaimed 2019 album Patience with a new EP, Perfect, out May 21 on Epitaph. Explosive lead single “Control,” out now alongside a Missy-directed music video, is an excellent first preview of Perfect.
COVID-19 blew a big hole in 2020 for most of us, and Mannequin Pussy were no exception. Touring in support of their acclaimed third album, they found their momentum grinding to a halt in lockdown, with the band members spending most of last year apart. Getting back in the studio to work on Perfect was what brought them back together, and with the assistance of indie producer extraordinaire Will Yip, Mannequin Pussy combined songs both pre-written and pieced together on the fly into their new EP. “We just figured if we forced ourselves into this situation where someone could hit ‘record,’ something might come out,” Missy says in a statement. “We’d never written that way before.”
The opening track off the EP, “Control” captures the mental struggle so many have experienced in the times of coronavirus, rendering feelings of helplessness and hopelessness as dynamic, poignant rock. “I’m in control / That’s what I tell myself / When all the walls around me close in,” Missy murmurs over a lone electric guitar, giving up as she concludes, “I know no one’s waiting for anyone,” only for the song to explode into a cathartic, irresistibly hooky ripper, emotions flying outward into the waiting ears of people who care. Missy stars in the accompanying video, as well as directing, moving from isolated and alone to empowered and liberated in thrilling, funny fashion.
Watch the “Control” video below and find the details of the Perfect EP further down.
Perfect EP Tracklist:
1. Control
2. Perfect
3. To Lose You
4. Pigs is Pigs
5. Darling
Perfect EP Art:
