Manvils Keep It Efficient

The Manvils think time is precious.

"Every second of a record matters," says Manvils guitarist/vocalist Mikey Manville. "There should be no fluff; no verse that is unnecessary."

The statement seems rather obvious, but if one is to flip on their current rock radio station and listen for a few minutes, Manville's on to something. There are a lot of modern bands who are bloated and pointless, bantering away with endlessly repeating verses and blathering solos. It takes the wind out of rock's sails.

That's why this Vancouver-based pop/rock outfit completed by bassist Greg Buhr, drummer Jay Koenderman and guitarist Mark Parry are adamant about ensuring their eponymous sophomore effort (released via their own Sandbag Records) is a solid punch to the groin. They're ensuring this album's 11 tunes strike hard and fast.

"With each part of a song, it has to progress and make sense," Manville continues. "I've been listening to a lot of classic records and new stuff lately, sort of analysing it. Every section of music has to advance to the climax of the song. It's important to cut the fat and I've never been more of a fan of it than in these past two years. I'm trying to write songs and not worry about a mass of sound for no reason at all."

The Manvils is a succinct, upbeat affair that pulls from the kitschy fun of pop, but still has enough swagger and balls to get the most discerning of heavy music fan out of their seat, too. It's an all-encompassing effort that even has its own ballad. Yes, despite pounding away, Manville got in touch with his sensitive side, too, claiming the importance of dynamics as the reason.

"We're all about energetic and rock 'n' roll to the max, but there has to be a sensitive side," he says. "I'm a steadfast believer in ballads. There has to be a love song on every great rock album. You can't just turn it up to 11 for 40 minutes. It was a challenge to do that.

"We have the persona of being wild and crazy live with rockin' songs, but I wanted to make a mature step. I wanted something more than just screaming guitars. It was challenging to get this together. I was pretty hard on myself."

One has to wonder how The Manvils will manage to surpass this album's focus next time. Shrugging off the notion, Manville points out that he's simply proud to have managed it this time around, concluding that when the next album comes due, he'll be up for the battle despite having very little fat to trim.

"I guess I'll have to test myself to be even leaner next time," he winks.