M(h)aol turn the mirror on themselves with ‘Scam Manifesto’, a wiry new single confronting the uncomfortable gap between the compassion we extend to others and the standards we impose upon ourselves. Written during one of Constance Keane’s social media breaks, the track tackles beauty culture, online influence and her own complicity within it. “It’s about having one rule for others and another one for yourself,” she explains.
Musically, ‘Scam Manifesto’ finds M(h)aol firmly in their wonderfully abrasive post-punk element. Scratchy guitars, restless bass and drums lock into a nervy, jittering rhythm beneath Keane’s characteristically deadpan spoken delivery, while occasional industrial clangs make the whole thing feel even more unsettled. There’s no obvious conventional hook; instead, its strange details and tightly wound momentum make it difficult to shake.
The accompanying video takes an equally off-kilter approach, dropping Keane into a karaoke party before a figure wearing a gloriously grotesque handmade costume gatecrashes proceedings. It’s funny, uncomfortable and deliberately strange – a fitting visual companion for a song picking apart the contradictions lurking beneath the surface.
