Mannequin Men come highly recommended to those with a penchant for garage rock, especially those who like their rock in garages filled with rusty two-seat bicycles and painful keepsakes stuffed in boxes.

Because, you see, Mannequin Men wear their hearts on their sleeves, and even if the grunge-infused album tends to overshadow this fact, the underlying longings of heartbreak and confusion eventually win out (“Cheryl Tiegs,” “Why Do I Get?”). Sure it’s grimy and coarse, but there’s also a lot of substance hidden below their apparent disregard for harmony.

In conflicting fashion, the self-titled album possesses the rough edges that were staples of the Ramones, yet it sometimes turns in a tender direction (“Dark Sunglasses,” “Medill”) focusing on lilting harmonies and plinking riffs on a guitar. The closing number, “Van,” is one of their strongest tracks through it’s bridging of crunched guitars and soothing melody. The repeated phrase, “I’ve got a little bit left in the tank, come on,” is irresistibly catchy, and as foreshadowing as any string of prose could be.

As a matter of fact, they have plenty left to accomplish. Mannequin Men make fantastic garage-messed magic, and will no doubt continue to do so.

(Addenda Records, 2409 W.  Leland
, Chicago, IL 60625)