Audio: Bangs
Album: Mink Car
Release Date: 2001
It feels like most of TMBG’s more modern releases start off with another amazing Linnell track: Join Us has “Can’t Keep Johnny Down”, Nanobots has “You’re On Fire”, I Like Fun has “Let’s Get This Over With”, etc. This has continued, which is great, but let’s not forget all of the fantastic openers from before this period.
Today’s song is one such opener, the pop icon “Bangs”. Mink Car has a very Europop sound in a lot of ways, and this just qualifies that even more. It’s disco-esque, with loud pulsing guitars and aggressive-yet-light percussion. Just like “Man, It’s So Loud In Here”, this song really has a presence to it.
Moments of Interest: Linnell’s vocals in this track are some of the clearest and most satisfying on the entirety of Mink Car, I believe. His enunciation is on point, his voice is clear and controlled throughout the song, and man are those lyrics fantastic! “A proscenium to stage a face that needs no makeup”? “To swing concordant angles as you incline your head”? His writing is super simple, yet really clever and interesting. Also, the backup vocals during the chorus are to die for. Linnell certainly has a way of creating the best backing vocals for any song.
The pulsing, vibrating guitars are something that I always latch on to when listening to the song. It’s a sound that you don’t hear too often, but They took it and ran with it. There’s something about the way that they rattle around in my mind that makes me hop and jump around.
The drums are aggressive but still crystal clear in their execution and intention. Hickey (in collaboration with percussionist Luis Jardim) is able to perfectly accompany the rest of the track; the drums are loud and interesting to listen to, but they never really take away from whatever else is happening.
Favorite Aspect: It’s hard to choose just one. While the vocals are superb, the guitar is almost unique to this song for me. I don’t know if there’s another TMBG tune that employs this effect, but even if there was I would still think of this song whenever I hear it.
Score: I can see why Flans almost exclusively places Linnell tracks at the starts of all of Their albums: every one of them is a winner. Just like “Can’t Keep Johnny Down” and “You’re On Fire” and “Let’s Get This Over With”, “Bangs” has created a name for itself — a name worth a 10/10.
Upcoming: Name [Dial-A-Song Direct Bonus Tracks]
