Review of Man Like Me's 'Pillow Talk' LP for Artrocker magazine

The double-dip recession, Kate Middleton, Bon Iver. The world ain’t half a bit dreary. But you know what hot electro-pop duo Man Like Me are doing? They’re busy not knowing about such mediocre matters and, fortunately, creating music that reflects this.

Remember the newspapers your parents used to read when you were a child, the ones that you’d almost certainly be engulfed by were you to attempt to tackle them yourself? Whilst the modern day world is still very much represented by the scary text that seemingly stretched for miles and miles, Pillow Talk is the cartoon strips towards the back that helped take you away from the humdrum of day-to-day life and into the colourful labyrinths of your imagination; Pillow Talk is enormously reminiscent both musically and lyrically.

Although Man Like Me is fairly competently represented musically speaking in new single, Sleaze, with its upbeat drums and perky sync-style tunes, the London based band’s ‘sound’ is still as hard to pin down as a kid coked up on sugar; Peculiar has tinges of Ricky Martin Latino love, Love Me Tonight makes use of layered brass similar to that exploited by David Byrne and St. Vincent, whilst absolutely no-one knows where to start with catchy-as-it-is-bizarre banger, Squeeze (except, perhaps, Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac who once played the track back to back). For the most part, though, Pillow Talk is full of the kind of songs a leisure centre would’ve played whilst you and your mates jumped around on their trampolines for your twelfth birthday party – loveable, albeit in small doses.

The representation of childhood continues amongst the lyrics on the album. Whilst it was to be expected that the duo would sing about their earlier years from the perspective of the age they are now – Peculiar, for example, predominantly discusses random items of modern day life and what the alternatives were “back in our day” – it nonetheless comes as a refreshing surprise when matters that were important as a child are addressed as if still a child; Fleetwood Mac contemplates the pros and cons of being on Pay As You Go or a contract, whilst the chorus of Squeeze is, somehow, a more childish version of Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.

And this is what Man Like Me and Pillow Talk is all about. Whilst their actual music and lyrics might not save the world, the happy-go-lucky mentality it represents just might.

Nick Beaver

Released: 3^rd March 2013