WE WRITE very simple songs, Gerry Kavanagh declares, doing his best to disguise his Lou Reed larynx beneath a pretty kosher Armagh accent. But anyone who s witnessed the Manor machine live would promptly dump that one in the nearest bosca bruscar.
Manor claim to be delicately poised . . . for greater things. They peddle a mighty fine line as a classic guitars, drums n bass outfit. They shift seamlessly between industrial noise and featherlite acoustic mix strings. And they cut a serious pose onstage, all psychedelic motorcycle helmets, pinstripe suits and shades to die for.
It s really not a long way from Keady to hear, despite what the road signs might have you believe. These four boys have wasted no time either in striking out on the fast lane, leaving the inside track for the more pedestrian outfits out there plying a trade in verses, bridges and choruses.
Well, if you listen to the title track of our EP, (the aforementioned Delicately Poised, honoured to hit the record shelves courtesy of the boys own entrepreneurial spirit), suggests Gerry Kavanagh, chief cook and bottlewasher, it s like a self-announcement for the band: We re delicate boys/delicately poised/making some noise . We freely admit that in the recording we added strings and consciously made it more radio-friendly. Live, we ve a very different sound. It s rawer, that s for sure. We see this EP as a sort of calling card, something that shows what we can do, and something that tells people: We re here. We can do this and we re going to do better things .
It s an audacious start by anyone s reckoning. Four tracks, the final one a syncopated New York-style version of the title track no less and each one cockily marking its own territory like a bull terrier on the prowl.
It s the short, sharp shock effect that Manor are seeking with this, their debut EP.
Putting bums on seats is what we need to happen, Mark Creegan declares unequivocally. Once the bums are in the seats, we ve no problem from there on in, because we ve enough self-confidence to know that anyone who comes along to hear our music will get the same vibe as on the EP. They may not get the strings but they ll get the band.
And what s in the name?
It s a strong name to me, like a stamp of authority, Tony Villiers avers. We wanted something short and strong. It s five letters, and it needn t mean anything. But in a London context, manor is a gangster s turf, so it s as strong as that. And this is our manor . It s four rather unsavoury characters saying this is our turf! And besides, it looks good on posters.
There s a lot of himming and hawing out there at the moment, Kavanagh adds, and I think the time is right for some decent kick-ass rock n roll to make a comeback. And Manor are about to do just that. n