New jams from Manuela Iwansson

Stupid COVID-19, stupid unemployment. About the only good that comes from any of this is there's plenty of time to read, watch movies, and listen to records. Lots and lots of records.

I was a big fan of the late, great Terrible Feelings. They put out a bunch of fantastic post-punk/power pop records over the last decade, including a pair of LPs that came out in these parts via the folks at Deranged Records. Sadly, I missed their show in Baltimore at the Golden West several years ago due to...I was poor? I had to travel for work? I hear it was a ripper. But then this Swedish quintet, as most things do, called it a day, apparently in 2016.

Imagine the pleasure I felt when I saw that lead singer Manuela Iwansson had started making music again under her own name. She released a 4-song EP June of 2018, but what drew me to her was the digital release last fall of two new tracks by PNKSLM Recordings in Sweden. They're hitting a real sweet spot for me. They're a pair of icy new wave rippers that scratch a real itch for me.

The first place my ears went when hearing "Strangers on a Train" was to Haircut 100; I hear some musical references to "I Ran (So Far Away)". There's a lyrical reference to A Flock of Seagulls in the first verse which is a little on the nose. Still, this is the kind of track I like sinking my teeth into.


"Blank Surface" is even better. The newest cut released by Iwansson, this has a real "Heartbreaker" vibe to it. Mrs. Mummy, who never ceases to draw the links between Pat Benatar and Bikini Kill, asked me to play this three times in a row when I played it for her for the first time.

The ad copy on the Bandcamp page references "added noise and 80s Berlin noir", and far be it for me to argue against that. There's a lot less punk and more polish to both of these cuts than with Terrible Feelings, but, fuck it, I'm 42 now; that's not a bad thing.

It appears that these will be released as one of them there "double A-side, limited edition 7"s" in May by the folks at Night School in the U.K. Who knows what the pandemic will do to that release date, and it's not like this fella, who's currently "on the dole" (as a 1970s British punk might say), can afford paying $15 for a new release 7". But if you're flush with cash, or feeling like a wild person, I'd say fuck it, and order one, because I'm into these tracks.