Animal Instincts: Manor Animals Self-record Debut EP
By Courtney Baldasare, Album Reviews Editor
On an average recording day for the boys of local group Manor Animals, a sheet of knobs, sliders, meters and cords greets and intimidates me as I take my first-ever step into a recording studio at Ohio University’s Radio-Television Building. It’s about 12:30 on a Friday afternoon, but inside the snug, closed-off control room, the apocalypse could be occurring and its inhabitants would never know.
That sheet of gadgets, better known to the more recording-savvy as a Neve console, is being manipulated by Manor Animals guitarist Josh Landis. The console is topped with tiny leopard-print lamps, fit perhaps more for a bubblegum pop recording session than that of the Animals.
Landis, also of local band In Silent Movies, comprises the majority of the technical brains behind recording and mixing the band’s debut Rearranger EP.
“I’m pretty excited about it, if I may toot my own horn a bit,” said Landis. “I just wish I had more time with it.” As a winter 2010 graduate of Ohio University, he has taken great care to ensure that the recordings are completed come departure.
Flitting around the control room maniacally, rolling from console to computer, Landis scribbles frantically on layers upon layers of masking tape to mark the various sections of the console with the corresponding sounds. He is talking to himself, pausing for only a minute to laugh about how I am probably taking notes on him talking to himself (for the record, I am).
“It’s nice to have Josh run everything himself, and the fact that we’re pretty much all audio students. The only weird thing is transferring when Josh needs to record,” said guitarist and lead vocalist Tim Race.
While Landis works his magic, Race sits in a chair off to the side, awakening his own sort of pluck-and-strum magic in preparation for the pending session. He softly sings vibrato notes that dissolve into the air, plucking around to release a saccharine melody. Fingers flicker around the fret board as he stares intently into the computer screen, both boys’ brows furrowed as they analyze the color-coded layers of sound on the track in progress – a tell-all testament to the work they’ve put into this EP.
“I think ‘separation’ is a good word for [the process]. Instead of a big block of time, we’re actually just coming in and [recording] little snippets here and there, which is great, but we’re seeing the songs slowly grow. We’re not usually together when we’re doing it,” said Race. “It’s definitely been a very separate thing in terms of everybody’s contribution to the collection.”
In total, Manor Animals consists of The Bruce Manor roommates Landis, Race, Alex Eiler (also of local group She Bears and the late Front Royal) on keys and backup vocals, Zach Inscho (also of local acts Seascapes andOctopus & Owl, as well as the late Russenorsk) on drums, and Mike Jones (like Landis, also of In Silent Movies) on bass.
“We’re all very clearly in charge of our own instruments, and that’s how this band kind of works,” said Race.
Jeff Redefer, Audio Production Sequence Head for the School of Media Arts and Studies, pokes his head in, scolding Race to tune that guitar.
The boys admit that it ruins the atmosphere a bit to record in the RTV Building with so much traffic going in and out. They had hoped for a more intimate setting, as any musician would. Nevertheless, they are undoubtedly working with what they’ve been given and hardly complaining.
“The equipment in here is just so beautiful,” said Race. “Most bands won’t have a studio at their disposal unless they’re lucky, but we do and we’re lucky.”
Today, Landis and Race are working as a pair to lay down some scratch guitar over the previously recorded drums. They reminisce about the story-bearing chips in their instruments. “That one’s from my Bruce Springsteen days,” Landis jokes, motioning to a nick in the surface. Race’s guitar, sitting discouraged in another chair as he adopts Landis’ for the moment, is adorned with a wrinkly ACRN.com sticker.
The boys speak of fantasy recording wishes, including the use of a technique heard on a recent Noah and the Whale recording. The group apparently weighed down the keys of a grand piano and let floor vibrations create a sound that rang out on the track. Landis and Race chuckle as they remember their college budget and continue working on their not-so-stingy recording sound.
However, Manor Animals have a few personal recording “techniques” up their own sleeves. One such technique? Stripping down – literally.
“The best moment was when Zach was getting really frustrated with a drum take, and he decided just to strip down to his boxers really, really quickly. He didn’t even take the time to let everybody else get ready. He’s like, ‘Alright, let’s go!’ and he sat down and he got the drum take right then. So that was pretty amazing,” Race said with a laugh.
Apparently, the trick works wonders, seeing as Inscho’s band-mates describe his drumming sound on the EP as “thunderous.” The boys seem to be impressed by Inscho’s swift, fluid changes in dynamics and spirited style.
“[When Inscho plays], it sounds like he’s playing 3,000 drums,” said Race.
Inscho’s style and influence comes from a myriad of sources. His concert and marching band background has given him a drumming personality different from that of your typical college band – just another way in which Manor Animals set themselves apart.
“I’m able to create different types of rhythms that are more derived from your basic pop or punk beat rather than coming up with rhythms that are derived from folk or something like that,” said Inscho. “I think that’s what I like about playing in this band. I can be creative with the drums that I’m figuring out.”
Lucky for the boys, that energy is anything but stagnant. During live performances, the Animals constantly feed off each other’s animation and enthusiasm. A frequent instigator of the verve flow is Jones, whose passionate bass parts provide a solid and impressive ground layer for tracks on the Rearranger EP.
“I love the times when Mike gets so excited and plays all out,” said Race.
Multi-talented Eiler is an agreeable vocal companion to Race, complementing smoothly. His charming key additions are indispensable to the Animals’ sound, with keyboard distortion being one of the band’s signature moves.
“Sometimes Alex’s keys are really proper, and they don’t necessarily fit, but I think it’s an interesting change because he gets so dirty sometimes,” said Landis. “Behind this rock music, there’s these beautiful piano things happening. It’s weird, but I really like that aspect.”
Though Landis and Race kid about instrumental wear and inability to afford luxurious recording benefits such as a grand piano, the studio’s state-of-the-art nature more than makes up for those shortcomings. Not to mention the cost-effectiveness – studio use is free for the band. The combination of their musical talents and recording expertise is turning out quite a debut for the Animals.
“It’s cool because we’re mixing a D.I.Y. sense with nice equipment. It sounds a little better than the average D.I.Y., but we’re still kind of going it alone, which I think is a nice mix,” said Landis.
The Animals are optimistic about the release, and thus far, they seem pleased.
“I hope it really comes together the way that it would for a seasoned band for their third album,” said Race. “To me, it’s sounding like it is right now.”
Taking his rightful place in the live room, Race clutches his guitar and asks Landis to set the appropriate mood, resulting in no more light than a dim, yellow-orange glow that soaks the mixing console. With a purse of Landis’ lips, the duo begins the process. Various meters on the console jump as though startled with every emotive note sung out by Race’s guitar.
Many aspects of both the group and its EP seem familiar. Race maintains his signature body bounce, Inscho tracks spectacular drumming sequences, and everyone seems on track.
“There is a bit of Russenorsk in this, but you’ll have that when Tim Race writes the songs,” said Landis.
However, the sound is altogether distinct. No, this group is not simply a fusion of its members’ current and previous other projects. While retaining each of the musicians’ personalities and styles, Manor Animals is something all its own.
“I think Manor Animals was put in a really good situation with the fact that [the members] are musicians, but not only musicians for Manor Animals, because sometimes that can get a little stuffy and claustrophobic,” said Race. “The big decision that we need to make is not necessarily avoiding the sounds of other bands, past bands, but instead just creating the sound of this band.”
In the studio, the boys laugh about the “local super-group” label used in anarticle run in The Post. “I wasn’t being serious when I said that,” said Race. “I didn’t mean to sound like such an ass!”
While recording vocals, Race doesn’t bother trying to emulate any sort of poppy vocal polish. He simply sings along impeccably to the tune in his own distinguishable style. That is, until a rare instance comes along in which he has forgotten the words, resulting in an exceptional take that ends in “...ohwhat’sthefuckinglyricsshit.”
After a few trials and adjustments, Race and Landis finish tracking the guitar for the particular segment at work. “This is starting to sound epic. Like Meatloaf epic,” Race jokes while pushing away from the mic. As the sound concludes, they comment on their satisfaction with the take, basking in the song’s aftermath as it reverberates through the rooms. Despite the laboriousness of self-recording, the boys are no strangers to smooth takes.
“I haven’t found a lot of difficulties in it. It’s really been a lot easier, honestly, because you can make decisions together instead of feel like there’s somebody that has to be impressed,” said Race. “Nobody knows our songs better than the people in our band.”
Rearranger EP boasts five polished, poppy, indie-rock tracks: “Crisis,” “Rearranger,” “In Reunion,” “Sunspots” and “Nervous Moon,” each as talent-ridden and catchy as the next. That’s speaking from personal experience, seeing as I could rattle off those lyrics and hum those riffs days after hearing them.
“Me and Mike joke about how we grew up on pop music and we bring poppy-ness [to the sound],” said Landis.
Landis looks back to me and nods in approval during a moment of exceptional performance by Race in the live room. After a couple days in the studio with the Animals, I begin to see the blood, sweat and tears that bind a self-recording band.
This is what’s behind an album that gives such a strong face and personality to the music. For Manor Animals, the recording process is a raw glance at what makes up so much of its dynamic – and I like what I see. If you’re anything like me, you’ll like what you hear on the upcoming Rearranger EP.
Be sure to check out Manor Animals at The Union at 10 p.m. on April 1st and at Casa Nueva at 10 p.m. on April 2nd.
