“MAN EAT DOG” is the new debut studio album from digital hardcore producers and songwriters Noelle Mansbridge and Juno, who make up the duo Femtanyl. These two are some of the biggest risers in the dance/electronic groups in the underground and niche music scenes, known for their hard-hitting beats that blast your eardrums from all sides while stabbing your eardrums at the same time. More recently, they had gained a spotlight from critical organizations like Pitchfork. While the article was mostly mixed, it did help the duo become better known online. This helped them land a recent feature on Danny Brown’s more dance-oriented album last year, and was one of the most notable songs from said album. With this in mind, it can be assumed that this new release would be hyped mostly by terminally online music nerds and anyone who likes niche music. Having only released two EPs, they’re ready to prove themselves with their debut. Do they?
The first single for the album is “BODY THE PISTOL,” which starts with a simple, fast kick and drum beat that also sets up the general melody for the song. Then the lyrics that follow are hard to hear, as they serve more for poetic purposes than to add complexity and texture. In this instance, it’s the bass for the song that makes “Body the Pistol” and “He Fire the Pistol” punch harder into the loudness of the song. The song’s speed doesn’t help either, as it doesn’t pause for a second before slamming a new sound into your ears while still adhering to the main melody established at the beginning. Even with this craziness and chaos, it all works and is a great first glimpse into this album.
The last single, “HEAD UP,” takes more of an IDM form and is less aggressive compared to “BODY THE PISTOL.” With that being said, it’s even more chaotic than the last single. There are so many different things that it’s hard to describe every noise or what’s happening. In the first half, it feels like something that could be played both at a basketball game to hype up the audience or at a rave. The second half, it slows down for a second before becoming more synth-heavy and has a digital filter placed over the song, before a brief reprise of the first half, and the song develops into insanity with nothing making any sense. Again, crazy, but it’s a good song as we move into the album.
Starting with the track, “SICK OF IT,” the duo leans into a genre that they have started to use more, especially in this album, which is “synth punk.” You take normal punk but replace the guitars as the main instrument with synths and drum machines instead, and it can be linked to help inspire dance-punk, which includes bands like LCD Soundsystem. Their use of synth is more similar to the band, Xiu Xiu’s debut album, where they focused on a more industrial song with faster beats and louder sound compared to a different synth punk band like Suicide, which is more traditional punk. This can be seen with the heavy focus on drums and drawn-out and distorted synths. It’s a track that stands out less compared to others in this album, but it deserves a mention based on the style they’re going for.
The track, “HELLTARGET,” does a complete left turn, starting like you entered a particle accelerator, and the rest of the track feels like you’re being slammed through thousands of walls by how heavy the bass is. The song slows for a moment to let a bit of hope for something calm, but immediately starts the machine back up and sends you into more droning chords and vocals, while a singular loud bass is played like someone is slamming a large hammer onto an equally large kick drum that adds to the atmosphere of the song. The song doesn’t stop until it beats the life out of you and then finally lets you rest in peace by slowing down for the outro.
The last track I’ll talk about is called “SHOWS YOU THE WAY TO THE HIWAY.” This is probably the calmest track on the album. The song is still extremely heavy, but it is more atmospheric and features synths that feel straight out of the late 2000s to early 2010s, as they are extremely high-pitched and echoey, like a copyright-free intro to a Call of Duty kill montage that’s overedited. It hits you with a wave of nostalgia, especially if you grew up with those videos. It also mixes well with the heavier production and house elements that would have dominated the song if it didn’t have the more melodic synth.
This has been one of the heaviest albums of the year and is a blast to listen to. If you can handle loud music, want rave music that is super interesting, and/or beats that feel like they can end your life from a heart attack, this is the music for you. I’m giving this album a 9 out of 10.
