Barbara Manning - Super Scissors

Big-in-her-own-back-yard esoteric songstress

San Diego native Manning has, over the years, seen her name in smaller print as an opening act for such diverse talents as Yo La Tengo, Donovan, Pavement, The Replacements and Sonic Youth, without ever creating more than a few ripples outside of her home state. An idiosyncratic folky rocker with a healthy streak of college indie about her, she arguably fits into the same feisty female category as Liz Phair or Tanya Donnelly.

This limited edition set (only 1,000 copies have been pressed) brings together her 1988 solo debut, Lately I Keep Scissors, the 1991 singles and demos collection One Perfect Green Blanket, plus a third disc of previously unheard outtakes from the same period. It’s the opening album that stands out, though, for its sparkly jangle that seems to blend Joni Mitchell introspection with early REM. Mark E Smith & His Brix, a discordant fan letter to The Fall, is full of self-mocking wit.

Flitting in and out of shortlived bands around San Francisco for the last 15 years or so, Manning’s latest project, The Go- Luckys, sees her attempting a punkish parody of sun-kissed California girl groups The Go-Gos and The Bangles. The DIY ethic of these early recordings and their genre-hopping concerns arguably represent the best of her work.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

Rainfall | CLOUD 038 (3-CD)

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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