Mannequin Pussy Perfect EP

No punk band today exemplifies flowers and fangs better than Mannequin Pussy. The Philly trio, having made their biggest splash with 2019’s showstopper Patience, operate on a level of vulnerable fearlessness regardless of whether they want to suspend you in airborne bliss or violently drag you through the mud. And with just 5 songs, Perfect leans into this bipolarity more stringently than ever before. While opening with Control—perhaps the bands most emotionally earnest, balanced, and strongest song yet—the rest of their EP throws whiplash to the wind, ricocheting between hardcore ragers and ethereal ballads more aggressively than what we’ve seen on past records. It’s the ultimate sample platter for a band who defiantly refuses to meet your expectations, and for everything it lacks in consistency, it more than makes up for in offering a heart-bled moment that will burn bright for someone.