Manchester trio Mandy, Indiana lurched onto our radars recently with “Nike of Samothrace”, and this week have followed it up with a new track called “Alien 3”. Introducing the track, they say:
“‘Alien 3’ is a dark tale of violence, defiance and rebellion. The words, almost whispered and monotone, are a declaration of power: I know what you’re doing, the victim says; but I won’t be on my knees anymore.”
Even though they’ve switched from Greek mythology to popular culture in track titles, Gary, Indiana’s level of menace and power has not shifted one iota. Valentine Caulfield once again sings in French, and even if you don’t understand the words there’s no mistaking the dissatisfaction in her voice – though she barely raises it above a whisper. This is aided by the rumbling and hissing industrial undercarriage of “Alien 3”, which adds full power to this imposing monster of a track. Stretching beyond six minutes, “Alien 3” could be a slog, but there’s something so intoxicating and hypnotic about the way the trio construct and produce their sounds that you’ll find yourself assimilating with their groove, ready to fight alongside them against whatever oppressors may arise – and by the time it devolves into carnal noise at the end, you’ll be gnashing your teeth with glee.
The video for “Alien 3” was created by the band’s own Scott Fair, who says:
“I saw a clip of the video game Mosh Pit Simulator a while back and found it to be both very disturbing and very funny, and I loved that reaction so that was a jumping off point for the ‘Alien 3’ video. I used free software called Blender to make most of the animations, it’s all completely new to me so I was like a kid in a sweet shop wanting to try everything and having fun with it. The other major component of the video is computer game glitches. Some true abominations are created when computer games go wrong and it’s utterly captivating.”
“Alien 3” is out via Fire Talk. You can find Mandy, Indiana on Bandcamp, Facebook and Instagram.
