Album Review: Man Like Me - Pillow Talk
- Written by Alex Ward
The Kinks aren't the only good thing to have come out of North London. Garage duo Man Like Me return this month with their new album Pillow Talk. Johnny Langer and Pete Duffy are mostly known for starring in adverts with Jona Lewie. After seeing them at the Lounge on the Farm Festival last summer we knew these guys would be ones to watch. Their performance as well as their music is always energetic and uncannily smart.
Luckily for the two London boys, The Streets frontman-turned-producer Mike Skinner agrees with us. After joining the two onto his label ‘The Beats’, he has brought them press coverage and inspiration which is second to none. However, the curse of Skinner's record label could lay heavy on them as both Professor Green and Example first released their music on it to mixed reviews. But that is still to be seen with the coverage they have been receiving on BBC Radio 1 and other stations.
What really brought interest into this release was their single ‘Squeeze’. The introductory bass line with electronic piano and comic lines about ‘tasting the fruits and drinking from my...’ make you sit up and take notice. If you haven’t already make sure to check out the video. Langer and Duffy running around as a vicar and a satanic priest is hilarious.
But onto the record itself. Unlike their self-titled first album, Pillow Talk is a lot more reflective. Love, life, food, football and social networking sites are all covered. ‘Wallow’ has a feel of being in a football stadium singing and whistling around with the other supporters. With a message of "why work hard when you could relax?", it has a similar feel to ‘Rat Race’ by The Specials. ‘Peculiar’ with its trumpets and garage beats is reflective on what has changed. ‘Van Persie goes on Bergkamp in our day’ is a good example. ‘Social Site’ has Skinner's influence pouring out of it with classic garage beats. Targeting onto our social media lives it talks of our belief in feeling famous according to what we have done or uploaded online. ‘Sleaze’ their second single from the record has a JLS mixed with The Streets feel but is a very dancey song. But the record's best moment is ‘Love Struck’. which includes fantastic reggae horns accompanied by great lyrics about the 'love struck' section of the London papers. It tells a funny and extremely catchy tale about meeting a woman called ‘Sue’. It comes across very similar to Flight of The Concords, but a more English version.
Even though this is their second release, Pillow Talk will launch Man Like Me into the spotlight. With a tour on the way, find out where they play and do yourself a favour; go see them live.
Pillow Talk is out now and available from amazon