American solo artist Max Diaz has already racked up over 1-million streams with their visceral take on alt-rock, based on their standout track, ‘Mr. Manson’; he is still criminally under-appreciated.
It has been a while since a feat of alt-rock allowed my curiosity to pique so intensely, but this snarling furore of macabre garage rock reels you in hook, line and sinker by using Manson’s infamous line, “I’m nobody, I’m a tramp, a bum, a hobo, I’m a boxcar and a jug of wine and a straight razor …if you get too close to me”, as a prelude. What kind of outlier could resist that Kerouac-style resonance?
It’s a fuzzed-up obsession-worthy track that fans of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are going to appreciate. Although it is safe to say that the distortedly electric choruses are infinitely more infectious. Instead of retaining an (archetypal) rebellious sense of ‘cool’, Diaz opted for no-wave aural insanity, allowing the soundscape to match the unstable state of Manson’s mind.
Of course, a track like Mr. Manson wouldn’t be complete with a burst of sonic guitars forming a wall, but this wall of noise comes wrapped in razor wire It really wouldn’t be a surprise to see Max Diaz signed to Ipecac Recordings or Sub Pop soon.
Mr. Manson is now available to stream via Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast