Man Made: Raining In My Head

Manchester newcomers Man Made release their debut album, ‘TV Broke My Brain’, on April 29. Check out the video for new single ‘Raining In My Head’ below, and after that read an interview with mainman Nile Marr (above middle) by Tanyel Gumushan.

“If you think back to the most significant moments in your life, I bet they didn’t involve a screen.” I’m holed up in a dingy dressing room with Man Made frontman Nile Marr, discussing important things. “You’re never going to say that the most significant moment in your life is watching TV,” he tells me. “It’ll be meeting somebody, or having a conversation, or even being on your own having a thought.”

It’s this notion that runs through his band, not to mention Man Made’s debut album ‘TV Broke My Brain’, which is due out on April 29. Forged on the stormy streets of Manchester and the basements of Portland, Oregon, it is a fuzz of caged emotion birthed from a desire to avoid technological zombification.

Gnarling with clashing drums, nifty riffs and fast-paced kicks, the title track moans “I’m tired of doing nothing”. Arsey and fed up, it slumps in a tantrum. Meanwhile, the understated ‘Hi Tech Low Life’ jangles with slurred guitars and melodic vocal harmonies (“We still sleep plugged in”). It’s an album which pulses with life and rages against the spoiled side-effects of our digital generation.

Nile’s Mancunian roots (he’s the son of Johnny Marr) have informed his valve-amp world view. “The Beach Boys could never have come from Manchester, it would have been completely dishonest! It’s important that you listen to where you are because you’ll get something that nobody else can.”