This past Friday I had the chance to be an extra in Hard Core Logo 2, Bruce McDonald's sequel to his 1996 cult classic. I'll be the first to admit that the idea of tampering with such a seminal Canadian movie is a bit questionable. In particular, it is next to impossible to find a front person of a band that can match the natural charisma that Hugh Dillon exudes, both as Joe Dick and as the former lead singer of The Headstones. However, McDonald chose Care Failure and her band Die Mannequin to take a stab at carrying on the Hard Core Logo legacy. Judging by the concert performance scene that was shot at The Distrikt, McDonald made a perfect choice.
Care Failure simply oozes rock n' roll. She is chock full of attitude, swagger, piss and vinegar. While she was "acting," it was pretty obvious that what she was doing on camera was not too far removed from what a typical Die Mannequin club show must be like. However, what impressed me the most were the handful of songs that blasted from the amps during the band's mimed performances. With crunching guitars and nonstop hooks, I HAD to download this band's tunes when I got home from the shoot. And now I'm hooked. They mix the dumb fun of hair metal with the dirty, sleazy punk rock of the 70's.
Fino + Bleed is still relatively new, having been released in September of last year. With the buzz that is generating from this movie, Die Mannequin are in an enviable position to make a commercial breakthrough. Comparisons to artists like The Distillers, Hole, L7 and Bif Naked are inevitable, but Failure and company can stand on their own feet thanks to their incredible songs. Of the 12 songs, there isn't a single clunker in the bunch. Highlights include "Suffer," Bad Medicine," "Miss Americvnt," and "Dead Honey."
You can check out the video for "Bad Medicine" below.
