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Igor Records

Mannequin of Strength

by Catamount

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $5 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    A limited number of the original 7" 33 1/3 EP are still available. (We might have some blue vinyl copies left too; can't say for sure) Includes Jennifer's handwritten lyric sheet.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Mannequin of Strength via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $7 USD or more 

     

1.
The Players Were Misfits 01:47
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2.
From Certain Angles 01:48
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3.
The Wantion Sign 03:36
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4.
Trouble In Your Atmosphere 02:24
5.
Student Loan 03:14
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6.
What's Inside 03:11
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7.
The Way It Began 01:41
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8.
Jen 5 02:32
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9.
Contract 03:30
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10.
Never Lets Up 04:17
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about

Another overlooked treasure from the Igor archives!

Catamount existed in the mid-to-late ‘90s underground Pittsburgh music scene. Guitarist Bob Goetz had played in a few bands previously, and drummer John “Fetko” Fetkovich was a former DJ at CMU’s WRCT-FM (immortalized by no less than Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon in liner notes for a 2017 compilation of Pittsburgh band Carsickness). Guitarist Steve Rader joined them and then the group was bolstered even more when Jennifer Schmidt showed the band some of her unique songs and sat in to sing them. If Catamount had a GBV feeling to start with, Jenn’s addition pondered what might happen if the Pollard crew teamed up with Barbara Manning (“Trouble in Your Atmosphere,” “Jen 5”).

Mannequin of Strength was released originally in 1997 as a five-song 7” EP. At the time, Igor Records heralded it as “the birth of the mid-fi,” combining the rawness of lo-fi rock (all of it was recorded on 4-track by the band) with the clarity you crave from your hi-fi. All these years later, we still stand by those words.

Available on Bandcamp for the first time, the re-release restores Bob’s ominous “The Wantion Sign” to its original length. Your download also includes five additional songs recorded at the same sessions but never released. The aforementioned “Jen 5” — a favorite of some of the Igor crew — includes lyrics that inspired the EP’s title. (It could have been the after-the-fact title track, but Schmidt holds a steadfast rule of never using lyrics as song titles.) Catamount might have been just a blip on the Pittsburgh radar, but Mannequin of Strength provides a glimpse of a band that excelled in the practice space, producing complex narratives, along with plenty of twang and squall. (For the latter, check out the intro to “Student Loan”).

credits

released February 18, 2022

Jennifer Schmidt – Vocals (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8), Guitar (4, 8)
Bob Goetz – Guitar, Bass, Vocals (3, 9, 10)
Steve Rader – Guitar, Bass (5), Vocals (6)
John Fetkovich: Drums

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about

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Catamount Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Catamount was active on the Pittsburgh indie music scene in the mid to late '90s. Inspired by the DIY ethic of Guided by Voices, they created a deeper sound with the dual songwriting and vocal skills of Bob Goetz and Jennifer Schmidt.

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