The Manhattan Project: Atomic Bomb Party Vol III Review

Published: April 25, 2013

By: Bradley Lanphere

After two years of patiently waiting, New York duo The Manhattan Project, comprised of Charlie Lindner on keys and Shawn Drogan on drums and electronics, have released their third volume in the Atomic Bomb Party series.

"Endless Nights" opens with a progressively louder pattern that leads into a short jam demonstrating both Lindner and Drogan's specialties. This first track starts out on a real high note sounding like the first electronic ballad of the EP. With soft drums and keys added to bass heavy beats, The Manhattan Project starts out strong leading to the main jam that would make an un-enthused crowd start to jump and get excited. "Endless Nights" is a great EP opener and a heavy electronic ballad.

A futuristic synthesizer and some vocal samples kick off "Full Bounce" and lead into a chill, groovy bass line. Listening to this song it's hard not to bob your head and sway to the beats. A good transition from the first song, The Manhattan Project goes from a loud and heavy opener to a more soft and relaxing second track. "Full Bounce" allows you to recover from the previous track but at the same time get you ready for the next.

"Bitcrusher" is a funky cut that brings a chill vibe to the table. But for some reason it almost isn't chill because the song does not make me want to just sit and relax while listening to this track, I want to get up and dance. The flow within this track from jam to jam displays a disctinct maturity.

Like the last two installments of Atomic Bomb Party, The Manhattan Project reference their obsession with nuclear weaponry in the fourth track "Hiroshima." The track starts out a little scratchy and hard to understand, but as it becomes clear, you can hear cut up vocals and a lone synthesizer. They add some tribal drums to the electronic vibe that adds a different flavor to the track. The bassline is still there and its still being groovy like the rest of the tracks giving the listener the rhythm of the track. The final two minutes of "Hiroshima" is where the excitement is having everything from the track come together as one to make a big electronic jam.

The New York duo continue to bring the electronic vibe to the live music spectrum. A futuristic sounding intro, followed by heavy synthesizers lead into the bands final track "Aftermath." Like a lot of The Manhattan Project's previous songs, "Aftermath" is a groovy, chill, and upbeat track. Although its been two years since Atomic Bomb Party Vol. II came out, the band continues to stay true to their roots and comes out hard in "Aftermath."

Overall this EP was a great addition to the Atomic Bomb Party volumes. What stuck out to me the most was the flow through each song and the transition between different songs. Each song was able to make time not a factor because all I wanted to hear was more music making me sad when it was over. I felt like Volume III was like a sandwich. The first song "Endless Nights" and the last song "Aftermath" were the bread of the EP because they were the hard and heavy tracks allowing the three middle tracks or the meat to stay together. Tracks 2-4 were the meat and the part of the EP that everyone wants and enjoys. These tracks were the elegant and groovy inside of this Atomic Bomb Party sandwich. Jamtronica has a bright future thanks to Charlie Lindner and Shawn Drogan of The Manhattan Project.