The Extraordinaires
Amidst the general and entirely justified excitement about the new song from Man Man, their current tour mates The Extraordinaires seem to have been criminally overlooked.
Given the kind of chaos in which Man Man seem to revel, it should come as no surprise that The Extraordinaires should also be just that little bit mental, albeit in less of a swampy way, more a sort of pantomime gone horribly awry. Songs about the deadly revenge of a cactus that likes to give high-fives were never going to be nice and sensible chart fodder, but that doesn’t mean that the kind of jaunty, skewed exuberance generated by this Philly four-piece is anything less than wonderful.
They list The Muppet Show in their influences, they play slightly silly circus folk music, they are a little bit inconsistent, but when they are good they are brilliantly, laugh-out-loud enjoyable to listen to. In fact, instead of conventional albums they seem to lean towards releasing musical productions, complete with accompanying illustrated books. Weird, perhaps, but it’s superb stuff.
Man Man – Top Drawer
The Extraordinaires – The Captain
The Extraordinaires – Hi Five the Cactus
ha!
man man’s six demon bag is one of my favourite records of the past something donkeys years.
the first extraordinaires track don’t play y’know, but hi five the cactus does sound like something off the muppet show. which can surely only be a good thing.
which leads me to question why don’t they repeat the muppets on the teevee?
why?
It was a great, great album and I am really looking forward to the new one.
If you want muppetry then YouTube is your place. Loads of the stuff there, including the criminally underrated Muppets Tonight.
Ah! LOVE the Extraordinaires. Ribbons of War continues to amaze, but you’re absolutely right, they can be a bit inconsistent. I actually tried to book my first show with them and two other bands, but I was unable to find a suitable venue on short notice. From what I understand they’re finalizing a musical theatre production of Ribbons of War, which I think will be fucking rad. I just wish they would come through Central Ohio, every show they’ve played has been 2+ hours away.
What do you actually buy, then? The books, complete with soundtrack?
Well, I know “Short Stories” came AS a book, with the CD in the back. It was hand screen printed and the pages had hand drawn pictures with the lyrics inside. It’s quite handsome. I’ll see if I can’t send you a photo tonight. As for “Ribbons of War”, I have no idea, I actually downloaded that from a now defunct porcine royal residence.
have you gotten to see them yet? your eyes will explode and your ears will pop. they are so freaking fun!
man man, i mean man man.
They’ve not crossed the pond yet, to the best of my knowledge, Marcy. I bloody wish they would though.