Pretty much everyone loves The Beatles, except this one guy I know. He says they’re too “bubble gum pop.” In that case, he and any of his sacrilegious kind may very well prefer a Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley band called Mini Mansions. They possess a distinctly Beatle-esque pop appeal, but it’s impregnated with a darkness. There’s something a little more sinister, raw and nasty there, and new. Nonetheless, for anyone I’ve ever introduced to the music of Mini Mansions, they all agree that it sort of comes across like a late 60s era “Dark Beatles.”
The band proposes that they generate a Technicolor spectrum of sound drawn from baroque, gothic, psychedelic, and cinematic realms, suggesting that if pure sound had the capability to project images on blank walls they’d be worthy projectionists. In reference to their most recent release, a self-titled LP, they claim it curtsies to the past, bows to the present, and foreshadows a progressively more abstract future.
They are Tyler Parkford (keys, guitar, vocals), Zach Dawes (bass, keys, vocals), and Michael Shuman, also of Queens of The Stone Age (guitar, drums, vocals). They formed in 2009 when Shuman was on break from his other band and joined forces with two longtime friends to create Mini Mansions.
When pressed for a less abstract description of their sound, Dawes says, “To us it’s pop music. But the pop music we like, which got lost under MTV and bad radio, I guess. I think the nature is much like California: not surprised when it’s sunny, but love the gray parts too.”
To Parkford, their music is imbued with drama, fantasy, horror, and romance. Elements which are well-expressed on their LP, in feeling if not always in words.
All stabs at intangible or tangible references aside, Mini Mansions do create their own uniquely intelligent and infectious, pop-oriented sound. One in which songs constrained to the pop format of no tracks over 5 minutes are still able to take listeners on colorful, mood-splattered, and sometimes even unpredictable journeys.
There’s also humor. Not so detectable in the music, but in the artists themselves. Dawes recalls how they came up with the oxymoronic band name.
“I was making breakfast one day and when the toast popped up it said Mini Mansions – kind of like that Virgin Mary grilled cheese that was on eBay awhile back.”
Parkford concurs in saying, “It just kind of popped up. Not too big, not too small – just right.”
To be sure, these boys are serious about their music, and making music; but all the same, they appear to entertain a great sense of humor about themselves and what they’re doing. A humor which seems to energize the music through a joy that also allows it to be a bit playful.
Prior to their LP, which was released on Rekords Rekords in 2011, Mini Mansions put out a limited 7-inch and a self-released debut EP. They’ve taken loads of road excursions throughout the country, as well as numerous retreats to Canada, and have performed alongside The Kills, Them Crooked Vultures, BRMC, The Dead Weather, and Autolux. Their first tour with Autolux being Parkford’s favorite.
As for what’s brewing… Parkford says they’ve just finished playing a beautiful game of pickle between an EP and an LP. Dawes adds with certain sincerity, “We are currently working on our new recording called Flux Capacitor, so we can see what’s in store for the future.”
Whatever, Doc Brown… At any rate, it looks like new songs are already leaking out at performances, and I’m guessing audiences will be able to look forward to a follow-up full-length within the year.
Mini Mansions perform at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach this Sunday, Mar. 18 with our very own Fartbarf, and Venice Beach band the Muddy Reds. All 3 can be heard on DirtyHippieRadio.com. MM will also be performing at Tin Can Ale House in San Diego on Mar. 17, Royal House Music Indie Fest in Las Vegas on Mar. 23 with Starfucker, The Whigs, and CSS, and in San Francisco at Cafe Du Nord on Mar. 30.
