MAN ON MAN (Faith No More) announce debut S/T album and unleash “gay love song” ‘1983’

17th February 2021 0 By Jon Deaux

MAN ON MAN (M.O.M.) has announced their self-titled debut album due out May 7, their first release with Polyvinyl Record Co. and Big Scary Monsters. The new project from Joey Holman (HOLMAN) and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen, CRICKETS, Nastie Band) is infused with indie-rock distortion and soaked in gay pop confidence while still maintaining the dry acerbic sense of humour they both share.

MAN ON MAN’s music has a timeless appeal, transcending genre and decade. The varied influences and textures of the record are a meditation on the myriad of emotions of lockdown, as well as this particular moment in their own lives. The duo released acclaimed singles ‘Daddy‘ and ‘Baby, You’re My Everything‘ in 2020 and are thrilled to reveal their lead album track ‘1983‘ today, a carnal yet tender love song, alongside a new video.

“We found the concept of outdoor cruising and anonymous hookups particularly interesting in this barren chapter of history,” shares the band. “While sex apps have nearly obliterated IRL hookups and the pandemic currently forbids human contact, “1983” is a heartfelt homage to an era that glorified danger, anonymous encounters and sex positivity.”

“We worked with Steven Harwick (Macy Rodman, Kembra Pfahler, Christeene) in our first video with a collaborating director and set out to achieve a visually wild and vibrant palette inspired by references of a bygone sexual revolution. CRUISING, CHRISTIANE F and the work of Alvin Baltrop are all cited as influences of complicated and often times problematic and challenging voices of outsider liberation in the piece. The outdoor scenes in the video were shot in the notorious Vale of Cashmere, the section of Prospect Park in Brooklyn that’s been an outdoor cruising destination since the 1970’s.”

It is hard not to be captivated with MAN ON MAN’s story. Musically and visually it transcends what we know of gay music, arriving at exactly the cultural moment that we need them. When we fall into their world – which was self-produced with mix support by Grammy-award winning producer Carlos de la Garza (M83, Paramore, Jimmy Eat World) and Mike Vernon Davis (Foxing, Great Grandpa) – we witness the duo’s deep intensity of falling in love while mourning, and the epic collaboration of two lovers that traverse the map of a COVID road trip.

Upon the release of their debut single, ‘Daddy’ their video was removed from YouTube for violating their “sex and nudity policy.” The video contained neither and was later reinstated with an apology for the mistake. At this moment, the band solidified their political visibility as queer artists who will not be silenced or removed from history because of their age or size. Bottum told Rolling Stone, “There’s enough representation in the gay community of young, hairless pretty men.”

As individuals, lovers, sons, community pillars, and human beings, M.O.M. are a womb to be reckoned with.

MAN ON MAN Tracklist:
1. Stohner
2. Daddy
3. It’s So Fun (To Be Gay)
4. Beach House
5. 1983
6. Baby, You’re My Everything
7. Two At a Time
8. Lover
9. Please Be Friends
10, Kamikaze
11. It Floated