The gene genie...
The Glasgow indie scene is quite a close knit place but still, its not every day you expect to be sat at the next table to an artist whose CD was lying in a bag at your feet. That was the scenario this past Sunday as Mana Rin was out having a spot of lunch in the same bar as this reviewer but given she was mid-meal, it was decided to leave her be. A sandwich was the meal of choice for this reviewer so the grilling was left over for this review.
‘DNA’ is the lead single from Manda’s debut solo album ‘My DNA’ and also acts as the opening song on the album. Depending on your memories of Bis and Data Panik, it is easy to see the continuation that the first fruits of her solo work has compared to her previous work but there is a bit more of a refined poppy edge. The bleeping and video-game esque undercurrent of the backing track should see Manda maintain her sizable Japanese fanbase and it’s a pleasant enough introduction.
With the album still to come, it is a possibility that there may be too much of a similarity to Manda’s vocals to make it truly interesting but as debut singles go, its short, its quirky and hopefully it’ll do alright. It may take her good friends at Dirty Hospital to take the production reigns and turn it into a sleazy squelching track to really make this reviewer love it but if you fancy a light slice of electronica-pop, ‘DNA’ isn’t going to let you down.