Sail - Mannequin



The Sail boys are back in all their atmospheric glory to take us away in search for new lands with their brand new single, “Mannequin.” The Southwest band are a colourful mix of Sludge metal/ Psych/ Prog and now with this release I can even add Synth-pop into the mix. They certainly aren’t playing by any rules these days; which is a brave path to take, one that I certainly think is worthy of praise. Sail have always been known to give the listener toe tapping beats, catchy hooks and huge riffs along with sprinkles of atmospheric synth sounds.


They’ve not only presented us one version of this single. Oh no, that would be far too simple! The band has graced us with 3 versions of Mannequin: a 4 minute 44 second version, a directors cut extended to 7 minutes 8 seconds and a Synth Wave remix which sounds like it fell right out of the 80s and in my opinion should be used on the newest series of Stranger Things.


Focusing on the original version of “Mannequin”, straight away I can see they’re taking a lighter route these days, the songs feels more trippy and less sludge and although they’ve always been melodic, the vocals are much more lifting on this track compared to previous ones. The tone of Tim Kazers voice is very similar to Matt Bellamy of Muse, but not in a way where he is just trying to show off with how well he can sing (Which personally I think Matt does and it annoys the heck out of me.) Beautiful and dark harmonies drift in and out of the song, creating depth and movement to the piece but never overshadowing the instrumentals. 

A mix of clean and fuzz-drenched guitars populate the song, sometimes working together sometimes taking time to have their own moment of glory. Considering there is so much going on during this piece, it could have been a hot mess but it has been mixed to perfection, allowing us to hear different components as we journey through it. Wether that be the clear cut ping of a ride cymbal, or when they change the feel of the song by throwing the thundering bass at us for a few moments, a reminder that though they’ve changed direction they are still indeed a metal band. There is always such risk of adding Prog elements to something because unless its done well you cannot get away with it sounding just “ok”, it will sound like clutter, offensive to the ears and unpleasant to the mind. Thankfully these guys have done it superbly, giving real thought to the composition so that it feels enjoyable and not confusing.


Last year Sail gave us the single “Starve” which was a deeply sludge driven tune, a long with live versions of “Dawn Chorus” & “Ghosts” which was from their critically acclaimed 2017 album “Slumbersong.” But one thing I have to question is… where is the new album guys?! Stop teasing us with these individual tracks and give us a full album of all your magnificence! Maybe I’m just being greedy but they’re making me hungry for more.


“Mannequin” is out on July 10th and you can Pre-order it right here! (Includes the Synth-wave remix and the extended version): https://thebandsail.bandcamp.com/album/mannequin 



Band Members

Charlie Dowzell - vocals and guitars

Tim Kazer - vocals and guitars

Kynan Scott - bass and synths

Tom Coles - drums


https://www.facebook.com/thebandsail 

https://www.instagram.com/thebandsail/ 

https://twitter.com/thebandsail



SG




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