Fifteen Minutes of Fame Music Entertainment

Originally Published on December 3rd, 2025

~About the Artist~

Allow me to pose a question to the reader: Have you ever felt like your life was a movie? Like you were stuck in some version of The Truman Show. What story is that movie telling? In other words, what’s your story, and how would the soundtrack sound? Would it be a Hanz Zimmer film score with epic percussion, deep synths, and aggressive strings? Or maybe a Danny Elfman score? Bouncy, campy moments at times, with striking moments of sincerity that feels like a slow dance? Would it be a compilation of songs my musicians that have been released over a period of time? Or an original exclusive album like NIN and Tron Ares or Childish Gambino and Bando Stone and the Brave New World (which we are still waiting to see)? What does it all look like to you?

“I’ve had a movie musical playing in my head as long as I can remember. When I hear something that hits me in the feelings, or makes me laugh, I try to get it out because I imagine it might feel the same way to someone else. ~ Aaron Lee, Mannequin Shop

For Aaron Lee, of Mannequin Shop, this is a feeling he has considered for most of his life. Rather than contemplating how that soundtrack would exist, he decided to create it.

Mannequin Shop debuted in 2022, with an album they self-produced, Lookin Round, a 10-song LP that plays for a little more than 40 minutes. If one listens to their catalog chronologically, the first thing they’ll hear is this album’s title track, a song that features bright and expert-level guitar solos, mid-tempo, upbeat melodies and percussion, and an exciting sort of energy that feels like a renaissance period for the singer. Come to find out, the album was written as Lee, the singer/songwriter, and rhythm guitar player, and his family contemplated leaving their New York home to move to a New country; a decision they ultimately made.

Lookin Round plays like it could wear a couple of different hats. There is definitely an element of Roots rock, not quite country sounding but perhaps there is an influence there. Lee’s vocals are storytelling, even a little performance driven at times, as if he’s reenacting the moments that inspired the song. It gives the vibe that it could also sound like a musical soundtrack, but not in a cheesy way.

There is also a pop rock element to the performance. In Burns, Lee showcases the simplicity of executing a performance in his very impressive range, as he hits some pretty high notes with a seeming ease that sounds unfazed by the leap in range. Burns has an element of Glam Rock to it that could almost be comparable to The Darkness.

Then in Winnebago, Mannequin Shop exhibits a more alt/prog rock sound that could compare to U2. Incorporating elements of reverb, backing out the lead guitar and layering rhythm guitars, structured percussion, and precise, pocket bass guitar, it resonates with progressive influence.

After Lookin Round, Mannequin Shop wouldn’t release anymore new music until October of 2024, two years later. Their second official release, Summer Shenanigans, is a 4-song EP that executes on a variety of levels. The more I listen to Mannequin Shop’s music, I really get the “soundtrack” analogy Lee uses when talking about Mannequin Shop’s music. I previously stated that Lookin Round sounds like it could wear many hats, but I think it’s really Mannequin Shop that is showing us their many faces. That’s because in real life, we have many faces. Sometimes, it is bright energy and excitement. Other times, we are poking fun at ourselves like Mannequin Shop do in their song, Dad Bod.

Summer Shenanigans. Introduces even more diversity to Mannequin Shop’s sound. Beach Bodies incorporates a more hard rock element to their sound, while transitioning to a sort of 50’s 60’s style classic rock before going back to the harder rock.

Mannequin Shop closed out 2024 with a couple of Christmas songs released in December before looking ahead to 2025.

~About the EP~

Tattoo is the second EP by independent artist, Mannequin Shop. Released on April 18th, 2025, it was the first release of the year for the band. This 6-song EP runs at a little over 20 minutes. It features Aaron Lee on vocals and rhythm guitar, Deke Spears on bass and backing vocals, Brad Hagen on drums, and Ben Holst on lead guitar and keys. Tattoo was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Spears.

Tattoo is a more regimented release compared the past work of Mannequin Shop. There is a structure to each song, a better blend of the arrangements, and Aaron Lee has found his voice with this album. Where past works have been diverse in their strategy, Tattoo takes ownership of its roots style; incorporating traditional organic sounds like the banjo, while incorporating stylistic approaches on lead guitar and vocally.

In the song My Part, Mannequin Shop show a potential for being a radio-ready artist. This cut may be their most powerful performance to date. Everything falls into place with this song. It fits right in with some of the better Americana and Roots performances of the era. From the performance, to the arrangement, and production, this is a flawless track that I have no notes for.

Similarly, their performance in Tennessee is just as compelling. I love how they’ve committed to the organics of this record, now introducing string performers for this ballad.

Lee’s vocals are on point throughout the record. There are elements of rhythmic precision, to go with a simpler melodic performance that keeps his vocals controlled. Again, I say, this is the best he’s sounded (not taking away from his other performances). It’s a cleaner, simpler delivery; a prime example of “less is more.”

I want to reiterate, I have no problem with Lee’s vocal work in previous works. I am simply surprised at how cohesive the performance is for this work. It is a simple matter of a creative decision that he made here and I think he made the right choice.

~Final Thoughts~

If I am quite honest, listening to the catalog of music that Mannequin Band has put out has been an interesting experience because it is almost like I have been listening to two different bands.

Prior to Tattoo, their published music touched on a number of genres, though the music all still revolves around Roots, Americana, and Rockabilly. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Aaron Lee has a history of theatrical work because there is a sort of musical theater element to some of his past work as well. I’m not going to say Mannequin failed to find an identity, I think they simply refused to claim one in the beginning because they are so good at implementing the diverse sound into their music.

Then they released Tattoo. After listening to this EP, it did make their previous work sound secondary to me. I’m not saying it is or was bad, I am saying Tattoo is that good. Where they refused to claim an identity before, they did no such thing here. With Tattoo, they stake a claim to Roots music, to Indie Folk, and to Americana. Lee, whose prior work was a showcase of his dynamic ability to perform in a very wide range across a number of genres. However, with Tattoo, Lee’s performance is simplified. It’s disciplined. There is a focus in his work. There is no doubt he has a physical talent, and it is impressive. I was thoroughly impressed with how effortlessly he leapt to a higher range and performed each note with such clarity. With Tattoo, he performed as an artist who has proved what he could do, so there wasn’t a need to continue to do it. His priority shifted to focus on the story of each song. There was less ornamentation and yet it seemed to be more impressive.

In essence, Mannequin Shop have gone from good to great. In a course of 3 years of performing, recording, and releasing their music, they have exhibited a lifetime’s worth of progress.

Tattoo wasn’t the last release by Mannequin Shop in 2025. Since that release, they released a collaborative single with BKFitz in August, Sharks. This single, part of an entire collaborative album, was followed by another, Wasted, which released in September. The album, American Deception, will release on December 5th, on Bandcamp Friday. I’ve already pre-ordered the album, which allows two additional downloads. American Deception is an album that seems to go more towards an alternative rock vibe. As much as I like Mannequin Shop, I look forward to hearing this collaboration.