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Oh No!

On First Solo Album, 'Use Your Delusion,' Man Man's Honus Honus Does Just That

Music ReviewWeston PaganoComment

Until Use Your Delusion, Man Man and Mister Heavenly maverick Honus Honus’ debut solo release, there had never before been a record you could fund in part with the purchase of a $666 denim vest and a disposable camera full of images of faked deaths. But, then again, there has never before been an artist with quite the same bizarro charm as Honus, either.

Despite flying solo, Honus (née Ryan Kattner) is backed by quite the supporting cast: Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse, The Shins, Cold War Kids, Mister Heavenly) pilots the percussion, King Cyrus King (Super Deluxe) contributes production and guitar, Dann Gallucci (Modest Mouse, The Murder City Devils, Cold War Kids) handles mixing, comedian Jon Daly is on sax, and even polymath Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Got a Girl, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, 10 Cloverfield Lane) and Shannon Shaw (Shannon and the Clams) feature.

Still, it’s clear the self-released Use Your Delusion is a cathartic release of the chaotic menagerie stirring in its creator’s wildly whiskered head, loosened by the freedom of truly setting out on one’s own. It’s not easy to match the dynamic eclection of his Man Man discography, but Honus damn near tops it in half an hour. For example, the accessible pop of ”Heavy Jesus" leans more On Oni Pond, “Will You?”’s soothing piano is very Rabbit Habits, and the "sour milk and cocaine" death metal freak of ”Red Velvet" might feel most at home writhing on Six Demon Bag. But Honus explores brand new territory as well with the nearly David Gilmour-worthy guitar solo of “Santa Monica” and the surprise amusement of what can be likened to Eric Idle-esque pomp on album closer “Empty Bottle.”

Having moved his dystopian sound to the west coast, the “apocalyptic LA pop” vibe rings clearest through the surfy tones in the nimble guitar work most notably on single “Oh No!”. Set to lines like “Happiness is just an accident wearing different clothes,” it’s an artfully classic example of sad sentiments stuck in a sunny song. “Your heart is bubble-wrapped in permanent depression,” he coos too a deft touch of sax and an almost reggae pulse resulting in a deceptively delightful package. “Will You?” in turn matches its “Rabbit Habits” keys to the sunlit savagery of a suicide prolonged awaiting love with a paradoxical knowingness few could pull off with sincerity.

First single, “Heavy Jesus,” is similarly bouncy, but replaces the angst with heretic hilarity. They say God works in mysterious ways, but Jesus himself appearing to an unwilling heavy metal disciple via a late night quesadilla is certainly a new one. Use Your Delusion would lend itself well to a similar marketing campaign; It’s not hard to imagine midnight taco trucks blaring this album like an ice cream truck jingle gone rogue.

On “Midnight Caller” Honus claims, “I don’t see any point in honesty / ‘Cause honestly, it’s the worst / And honestly, honesty can take a long walk off a short pier,” with wordplay reminiscent of “Van Helsing Boombox.” Yet Use Your Delusion, nor any other song he’s ever sung, rings hollow or faked, even at his most maniacal. The word “carnivalesque” gets thrown around a lot when describing Honus’ repertoire, but endearingly that’s just what it often is. Honus howls, trapped in a house of mirrors that beautifully distorts the fits and visions of his genius. The alien bearded lady won’t stop screaming.

When Honus first spoke about the then-unannounced LP in an interview we did last year, he told us much of Use Your Delusion would be increasingly gentle on the vocal cords for a couple of reasons; One, Honus was shredding his pipes singing his older material and needed to tone it down in the interest of sustainability, and two, he sang more quietly in his LA practice space out of discomfort with an FKA Twigs knockoff and Bruce Springsteen cover band flanking him through either wall. I like to imagine somewhere they’re giving interviews about the shock of hearing “Red Velvet” from the other room.


Read our full in-depth interview with Honus Honus about Use Your Delusion, Man Man, Mister Heavenly and more, here. Buy Use Your Delusion here.

Man Man's Honus Honus Releases New 'Use Your Delusion' Single, "Oh No!"

New MusicWeston PaganoComment

"Happiness is just an accident," sings Man Man / Mister Heavenly maverick Honus Honus on "Oh No!". Following "Heavy Jesus" and continuing the rollout of his "apocalyptic LA pop" solo record Use Your Delusion, the single is a classic example of sad sentiments stuck in a sunny song.

"Oh No!" combines such lines as "Your heart is bubble-wrapped in permanent depression" with a deft touch of sax, an almost reggae pulse, and some of Honus' most nimble, surfy guitarwork to date for a deceptively delightful package.

Honus explained to Consequence of Sound,

[Producer King Cyrus King] wasn’t a fan of the song when I initially brought it to the table so it took a bit of convincing to get him onboard. It truly was a situation where when he first heard me demoing it out he went, ‘Oh no, not this song!’ The name was sort of born out of that moment even though the lyrics in the bridge already hinted at a title. Also, ‘Ono’ in this pronunciation is Hawaiian for delicious. Food for thought.

Going into this making this record I wanted to play around with different synth sounds, experiment with brighter, maybe even ‘cheesier’ tones that would draw a sharp contrast to some of the non-breezy lyrical content. I’ve always been a fan of juxtaposing opposing vibes and I love how the tune has a bouncy, summer feel but if you actually listen to what I’m singing, the sentiment is rather melancholy since it’s a song dealing with a breakup and post-breakup healing. But…if you’re someone who just hears the music and could care less about what the song is about, it’s a feel-good jammer and sounds even better when you pump up the volume! True story.

You can preorder Use Your Delusion, the self-release of which has been pushed back to October 28, through the Pledge Music campaign.

Read our in-depth interview with Honus, in which we discuss his solo record and more, here.