Millennial Dance
Dear avocado toast gurus, angsty techies, and unemployed visionaries: Mantello has a groovy anthem for your generation. “Millenial Dance” combines the 90s funk rock sound of an MTV-colored childhood and the quirky humor of a Swedish small town band. The song depicts an energetic portrait of witty generational tropes with head-bopping riffs and a memorable guitar solo evoking rock & roll of the 50s.
The steady beat-driven funk of “Millennial Dance” serves as a lighthearted curtain to the crafty satire portrayed in the lyrics. As millennials age, their youth can now be seen from a retrospective distance that allows for half-serious commentary: I can do what I want / But I don’t wanna do it, the protagonist sings, encapsulating the 2010s stereotypes on young adults.
The improvisational character of funk is at the core of Mantello’s songwriting: “The creative process has pretty much been the same since the start and can be described with one word: Jamming.”, the band explains.
While the simple song structure allows for catchy hooks characteristic of Swedish pop music, “Millennial Dance” preserves the spirit of rock: “We have grown both beards and confidence to accompany our more raw, unrefined sound with heavy riffs, screaming vocals, and society-condemning lyrics.”.
At the heart of Mantello’s story is Alingsås, a small Swedish town about an hour from Gothenburg informally known as “the potato city”. While Petter Sandell (bass guitar) and Isak Ernholm (vocals, guitar) have been members of the band from their teenage years, Johan Åberg (drums) joined them soon after he graduated from the same high school.
They’ve played at the town’s “Potatisfestivalen” and several other venues across the region, being featured as support act to well-known Gothenburg band Lillasyster.
The band’s sound has evolved from an initial jazzy complexity to the 90s-inspired funky rock that we’ll hear on “Millennial Dance”, their first release with Rexius Records. The single will be available on May 29th.
📷 Jonna Eliasson
