Besides Asides

Take Manhattan were a kind of indie/punk band from Bloomington that merged raucous punk rock execution with a down home rootsy songwriting. They were probably influenced by the popular folk-punk movement of the 2000s that Bloomington was swept up in but they didn't have that amateur feeling you get when you listen a lot of the Plant-It-X crowd. There is still that enthusiasm but also really solid songwriting to back it up. If I had to make some comparisons they remind me a little of Two Hand Fools and the New Pornographers having a dance if that makes sense. In their short existence they released a sole EP and went their separate ways, but I know that the drummer Greg now plays in the two piece Outdoor Velour. They have since put their EP An Audio Coloring Book up  for free on their bandcamp. So head on over and czech it out.