One Man Team Dance – Set Menu

My first encounter with One Man Team Dance was around two years ago in the most unlikely of situations. Sandwiched between a math rock two piece and an instrumental metal band they happily set up in the middle of the floor armed with a drum kit, headbands, Casio keyboards, toy guitars and megaphones and proceeded to make one of the most enjoyable half hours of live music I’ve seen to date.

After binging heavily on a CD labelled “4 Good Songs” they gave me after that gig I am beyond excited to finally get my hands on their debut album, Set Menu, and can happily say it’s been more than worth the wait.

For those not in the know, One Man Team Dance are a High Wycombe based duo consisting of Sam Luck and Michael Neaves on drums and keyboard respectively, playing what could be described as a combination of noise pop and math rock with a healthy dose of Armando Iannucci and circuit bent toy guitar thrown in for good measure. Whilst this may sound like a somewhat dubious mix on paper it genuinely works in practise and Set Menu is a testament to this from start to finish.

All but one of the “4 Good Songs” made it onto Set Menu, each making an appearance in a slightly faster and more refined form alongside 7 new tracks including mathy opener “Space Cadet”, slow favourite of mine “What Would Webbs Do”, and bastard child of the two; “Supermarket Sweet The Leg Johnny”.

I’m really hard pressed to say much about this album apart from you won’t know if you like it until you try it. I know that sounds like the laziest review ever but it’s honest to god the truth. I’ve chalked up 237 plays (to time of writing) of One Man Team Dance since starting writing this review but equally I’ve had friends who just aren’t interested by them in the slightest. If the thought of Casio and drum noise pop has you interested and you think you might like to give them a listen then side A is the more energetic of the two sides, showcasing the bands more math and noise-like tendencies whilst Side B retains some of the upbeat nature of the first half but isn’t afraid to slow it down and just let it be catchy. I’m more a fan of Side B (particularly “Walker (Orlando Blues) and “What Would Webbs Do?”) but each to their own; it’s free to listen to on Soundcloud so why not make your own mind up? And if you enjoy it, please buy it from Dead Pilot so Daniel can afford to get it pressed sooner ;_;

One Man Team Dance - Set Menu by Dead Pilot records