It’s not that hard to sit in the right order guys is it? There’s only three of you.
BACK TO WORK
T
After a three year break spent playing with a couple of rather massive carve out time in the studio and he normal trajectory stadium bands – as you do from it came forthcoming EP for a reasonably niche ‘Works Every Time’. “We were band returning to all together and all focused and the live arena goes are returning with new EP ‘Works we wrote probably some of the something like this: Every Time’ and a new lease of life. best songs we’ve ever done and play a few small Words: Lisa Wright. that’s when I thought, OK we have shows, release some music, wait something really special and I don’t agonisingly to see if anyone cares wanna let it go,” Michael affirms. and repeat, scaling things up a little each time. Not so, Mini Mansions. “We did our own Drawing primarily from a recent wealth of experience show in New York and it was fucking awesome and then gained during an intense, two-year relationship, songs the next night we played to 40,000 people supporting like the synthy, heady prowl of ‘Midnight In Tokyo’ and Arctic Monkeys,” laughs singer Michael Shuman, speaking the slinking, nocturnal title track are their most direct and from Toronto during a day off from the tour. “And that was immediate offerings to date. “Falling in love is the most actually meant to be our first show back.” amazing thing and when that happens it’s actually really easy to write because so much shit is pouring out of you. It’s a mighty ask for a comeback show, but then the LA Same for breaking up, but in the opposite direction,” he trio - completed by keyboard player Tyler Parkford and explains. “I was busting out songs, because I had so much bassist Zack Dawes - aren’t exactly newcomers to the big content running through me.” Then there’s the filthy cover stages. In the interim three years since second LP ‘The of Edwyn Collins’ traditionally lovelorn ‘90s classic ‘A Girl Great Pretender’, Michael has been back playing bass with Like You’ that ends the EP. “It always just seemed like a his other band, Queens of the Stone Age. Tyler and Zach dirty song to me,” laughs the singer. “The slinkiness of spent the time on stage with The Last Shadow Puppets, it, that’s the way I thought of it. I understand it’s lyrically while Tyler is now in Arctic Monkeys’ touring band, meansupposed to be sweet, but I always heard it as super sexy while all three signed up as cult outsiders Sparks’ backing and dirty...” musicians for a stint too.
MINI MANSIONS
It’s a hefty CV, but one that also nearly broke Mini Mansions as their own band. “Though [those projects are] all good things, we really started to not have time together. And there was a time when I thought, let’s just probably stop this. It doesn’t seem very healthy...” recalls the singer. However instead of quitting then, the band decided to 12 diymag.com
Though short, it’s a return that kicks any of Mini Mansions’ doubts to the curb. Next year they’ll follow it up with a third album proper, meanwhile now they’ve just got the small matter of a stadium tour to contend with. Just another day in the office for this lot... diy
