Photo: John Sturdy

Chicago’s Mannequin Men will be the first to admit that rock ‘n’ roll can take a lot out of you.

“Why Do I Get?” a catchy gem of a song from the group’s new self-titled record, is a woozy, rambling slow burner that simply asks “Why do I get so tired?” And it almost didn’t make the final track listing.

“Originally we wrote the song hanging out at the practice space after the bar with just three of us,” says guitarist Kevin Richard. “We were gonna bail on it but decided to bring it to the band and Ethan [D’Ercole, guitar] came up with that little guitar lick and made all the difference.”

These days, Mannequin Men aredoing a fine job of carrying the Midwestern bar rock torch, and while one could think that a song about getting tired sounds like a real drag, note that the lyrics are more homage than confession.

“The lyrics are a little nod to one of our favorite bands, Swell Maps, and they kinda just speak to the idea of having big hopes and how impossible it is to motivate yourself to make it happen,” says Richard.

And if the band found that it was actually feeling a bit fatigued?

“We all have doctor’s appointments to check that out when we get back from tour,” jokes Richard. “Guessing it’s probably chemical.”

Mannequin Men is out now on Addenda Records.