“Selective deafness, but now you know”: Menajerie’s Soul-Stirring “Holding Pattern” Is an Empowering & Emotionally Charged Seduction

Australia’s Menajerie light a scorching fire on “Holding Pattern,” unleashing their inner heat with raw, smoldering passion and radiant, seductive soul. This is the music of a heart unleashed and untethered; an unfiltered, intoxicating embrace of empowerment and liberation.

Stream: “Holding Pattern” – Menajerie

Get too close to Menajerie’s new single, and you might get burned.

The Meanjin/Brisbane-based band light a scorching fire on “Holding Pattern,” unleashing their inner heat with raw, smoldering passion and radiant, seductive soul. This is the music of a heart unleashed and untethered; an unfiltered, intoxicating embrace of empowerment and liberation; an unapologetic fever dream.

I been living with these dreams
Almost bursting at the seams
Can’t imagine what it means

Something with a lotta give
Makes it easy to relive
But the moments passed away
It’s passed away, it’s passed away

I been f***ing who I chose
I’m sure everybody knows
He got all up and it shows
It shows

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Holding Pattern,” Menajerie’s third career release and the lead single off their forthcoming debut EP, Selective Deafness (out September 29, 2023). Fronted by vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Gracie Mack, Rosa Mack, and Mel Galletly – with Andrew Fincher (Kerbside Collection, HRBRT, CityPiss) on guitar, Lee Brackenborough (Elktung, HRBRT, Big Dead) on bass, and Beau Jorgensen (Mover, Stormchasers) on drums – Menajerie are a new, rising force to be reckoned with in Australia’s neo-soul scene. The sextet “leave their audience worshipping at a pussy shaped altar of Funk” (per their own description), having released two songs to date – 2021’s “Time” and 2022’s “Stuck,” both of which feature deep grooves and stunning vocal harmonies that send shivers down the spine.

And yet, “Holding Pattern” feels like the group’s proper debut; a cinematic slow-burn that steadily rises to breathtaking heights, Menajerie’s first release of 2023 is the start of something extra special, as the band’s keyboardist/vocalist Gracie Mack takes center stage, spilling her heart out in a grooving, glistening haze of warm tones and wondrous melodies. This is the spellbinding introduction the group deserves: An entrance that immediately calls to mind such contemporary heavy-hitters as Hiatus Kaiyote and Thundercat.

While this song itself is undeniably unleashed, getting there was no easy task (it seldom is). Writing in the fallout of her own broken, fractured relationship, Mack allowed herself to be more vulnerable than she’d ever been before, ultimately finding catharsis in getting her feelings out in a meaningful, visceral way.

Won’t know if I’m moving on
Without a chest to lay upon
Guess I’m staying up ’til dawn, ’til dawn

Selective deafness, but now you know…

“‘Holding Pattern’ musically mirrors the emotional patterns we create and then feel trapped by,” Gracie Mack tells Atwood Magazine. “I wrote it at the end of a long term relationship, reflecting that the things that I did to break out of my patterns ultimately led me to perpetuating them further. The song came about at a really sore point of the breakup where I felt I wasn’t being heard and he was just hearing what he wanted.”

“The line “selective deafness, but now you know” hit strongly and the rest of the song formed around it really quickly, with the girls crafting harmonies and the boys digging deeper into the groove. We want people to feel the emotional charge of this song through the confrontational lyrics and then the release of anger at the end as the gritty shuffle kicks in.”

Something’s shaky underground
Pulsing, needing to be found
Electric shocks when I take you on down
Won’t remember what to say
I thought your soul was made of clay
But only moves in one way, your way

From its brooding, intensely intimate beginnings to its fiery, full-bodied finale, “Holding Pattern” is a captivating show of strength from a band we can’t help but fall for.

Breathtaking harmonies, storytelling lyrics, and hypnotizing grooves all add up to an utterly alluring performance that keeps us coming back for more. Mack’s cool, confident vocals – full of attitude and dripping with emotion – are the both the cherry on top and the binding factor, holding together this song that feels like it could go anywhere and do anything, if given the opportunity. That’s jazz for you – and surely, this hints at the power, sheer unpredictability, and pure energy Menajerie bring to their live shows.

Stream “Holding Pattern” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and stay tuned for more from Menajerie as they prepare to release their debut EP.

Selective Deafness – now you know – is out September 29, 2023.

Selective deafness but now you know
Gave into chances we should have blown
If I scream do you hear it well no
Took another choice just let it go
Selective deafness but now you know
Gave into chances we should have blown
If I scream do you hear it well no
Took another choice just let it go

Selective deafness but now you know

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Stream: “Holding Pattern” – Menajerie

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