Mancino’s EP, Dear International,, at times reminded us of Franz Ferdinand. But we’ve since realized, due in no small part to their recently released full-length — Manners Matter — that, if you bypass that possible medium and head back to the true source of influence for the band, you’ll likely end up looking straight into the eyes of Ray Davies and company. Mancino has the same rollicking playfulness The Kinks so often put on display, yet, unlike the wannabes, they also manage to capture the dark edginess, spanning a range of mild to outright cynical, that made The Kinks so special and interesting.

And they put on one hell of a live show:

What’s with the kazoo? Well, they normally use a recorder, but it decided to roll off the stage during load in or sound check and was lost to one of the many crevices around the stage. The guys were able to find a kazoo at a nearby store and made nice use of it. They even repeated the substitution at their next show with another recorder readily available to play. Mancino is cool. Mancino likes the kazoo. Therefore, the kazoo is cool. Logic has dictated.

For better quality video, download the iTunes & iPod playable version.