Mannequin Pussy’s spiritual break
thefader.comMarissa “Missy” Dabice spends her days at home chasing serotonin. After becoming an “intense hermit” during lockdown, Dabice discovered that there are just three sure-fire methods of acquiring the body’s natural mood booster: exercise, cooking, and talking face-to-face with another person. “How hard are those three things to fit into a day when your energy is a resource for others?” she asks, ticking off the latter from her to-do list over a full English breakfast in a south London cafe.
That idea of protecting your energy and prioritizing how to spend it informs much of I Got Heaven, the excellent new album from Dabice’s ferocious and quietly tender punk band Mannequin Pussy.
It’s a collection of songs that rage and soothe in equal measure, written by a band in their 30s as they reflect on young adulthood from a grown-up perspective.
Dabice, who is joined in the Philly-based band by drummer Kaleen Reading, bassist Colin “Bear” Regisford, and multi-instrumentalist Maxine Steen, says the first impetus for the album came two years ago following a break-up. “I realized I’d been in a relationship for the whole of my adult life,” she says with dread. “I’d always been someone’s girlfriend.
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