Connecticut quintet Manners, comprised of five childhood friends, dropped Apparitions and Escapism via MorseCode Recordings earlier this summer. The 12" vinyl and CD includes a re-recorded version of the Escapism EP from 2010, as well as 2011's Apparitions EP, complete with a pair of new songs. The re-record of Escapism took place in an old country farmhouse in Connecticut, too! That's what makes Manners so real and so raw.
Manners are ushering in the new wave of melodic and emotionally resonant hardcore, along with bands like La Dispute and Touche Amore, so we knew we had to nail them down for a chat. Guitarist Ian Bates gave us the rundown on all things Manners, who describes themselves as a "five-piece alternative hardcore band."
With two EPs and three years of history, they may be new, but they are climbing and turning heads! And guess what? Bates can play the banjo and accordion, too! Maybe those atypical instruments will show up in a Manners song down the road in the most subtle of ways. He also revealed how the serial killer drama Dexter factors into one of their songs and why he is so informed about flowers.
Pick one Manners song and share an intimate writing or recording story; that is, something we could only know because you told us!
In our song "Apparitions," when we were recording a section in the middle with just drums and feedback, I suggested to [vocalist] Chris [Hague] to whisper quietly and I would reverse it to add a bit of creepy ambiance and fill up the space. What I didn't tell him was what to talk about. When I hit record, Chris started ranting about the TV show Dexter which he was obsessed with at the time. As dumb as it
