Location doesn't matter when it comes to influences. Since the birth of rock and roll musicians have been trading licks across county lines and continents. Nevertheless stylist hotspots do spring up from time to time; Seattle, California, Detroit, Nashville, Merseyside and Manchester. And Man Made undoubtedly belongs to Manchester.

The opener on this 4-track EP - 'Do Your Worst' - has the melancholic air of Noel Gallagher's introspective acoustic moments and could be the theme tune to the next Craig Cash comedy. It's not only in the music - it's in the genes. Man Made aka Nile Marr has a well-known dad called Johnny.

'Don't Thank God' is a groovy track that isn't a million miles away from the stuff on Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. It's a bit of an odd bird though favouring a rough unproduced sound rather than a highly engineered sheen. It lends the song an improvised DIY quality.

'Happiness (We're All Invited)' and 'Slowdance' continue the Greater Manchester influence with a slight nod towards Elbow. Both tracks being expansive in both duration and downcast mood. Nile Marr exhibits a Noel Gallagher-like tone and melody in his vocals but stylistically the music is far removed from both Noel's solo work and Oasis. It has much more in common with Elbow.

This EP is definitely a grower and you need to spend some time with it. If played in reverse order you'd probably lose interest and miss the gems of the first half - 'Don't Thank God' and 'Do Your Worst' which comes across like a very good Buffalo Tom song.

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