MICHAEL O. (OLIVARES) of beloved Bay Area psych-pop band THE MANTLES has been steadily building songs in his basement in Oakland with the help of HORRID RED’s EDMUND XAVIER for the past few years. The result is this affecting collection of cracked pop hits and tragic ballads. The Mantles are known to lay down a thick electric jangle, but with Michael's solo songs the focus rests on rough-hewn vocal melodies and lyrics, laced with synths, acoustics, clarinet and noises. Really? arrives one year after the release of his Face The Facts single and with it Michael tumbles headfirst into Modern Lovers, Tronics, Kevin Ayers, Jacobites and Tall Dwarfs territory... home recorded & highly personal, but not lo-fi, please.
