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MammaBear: Chocolate
Release Date: October 7, 2016
Chocolate track listing:engineered by Kris Sampson produced by Kyle Gordon and Kris Sampson mixed and mastered by Kris Sampson all songs by Kyle Gordon recorded at Bee Sting Manor and Kyle's living room 2014-2016. Art by Patrick Davis
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On October 7th, Atlanta’s rising star MammaBear released their long-awaited sophomore album Chocolate, written by mastermind/frontman Kyle Gordon and engineered by Kris Sampson, who has also worked with the B-52’s and the Coathangers.
Chocolate differs from the band’s first album vol. 1: “Birds of Paradise” (2013) by being a bit more experimental. This spirit of experimentation is informed by the influences of ambient and electronic music. Yet fans will also be happy to hear a continuing tradition of psychedelia and straight-up rock’n’roll, which stands at the core of MammaBear’s unique sound.
The record begins and ends with ambient instrumental tracks that serve as relaxing soundscapes to ease us into the recording and then ease us back out into the day-to-day world. I especially like “Pursuit Of Happiness,” with its shimmery groove, beautiful guitar melodies and Pink Floyd-esque vibe.
A couple of amazing songs previously released on EP; “Strange Love” and “Kick Me” (from The Strange Love EP) were not included on Chocolate, possibly because they are from 2015. Yet one can still hope these two gems will appear on a full length MammaBear record in the future. However, “Cruise Control” and “Wherever She’s There” from the 2016 EP Hell Cat do appear on the new LP.
“Cruise Control” is a rippling, rolling trek into gorgeous psychedelic territory. This upbeat yet affecting anti-war song features sophisticated, savvy lyrics and a triumphantly wailing guitar. It’s even more timely now than when it was released on EP in February of this year. The lyric “is it me or has the world gone mad?” is especially poignant, and something I catch myself saying a lot as we get closer and closer to our country’s presidential election.
“Too Slow” is a soothing, dreamy trip down the winding path of self-reflection. It utilizes repetition to good effect, with backing vocal tracks repeating a refrain of “who are you?” The lead vocal entreats “so who are you? so tell me who?” becoming more insistent and pronounced as the song progresses. A shouted “who” rides the coattails of an Oasis-like guitar solo and punctuates the song nicely. This song is meant to evoke a specific emotion in the listener; to make us aware that we aren’t as isolated and different from others as we may feel.
“Show I Care” wins you over with its propulsive rhythms, cascading guitar hook and soaring vocals. It makes excellent use of the loud-quiet-loud dynamic shifts that we have come to know and love in MammaBear’s music.
My favorite song from Chocolate is “Ice Queen,” a no-holds-barred rocker driven by a gravelly rhythm guitar hook. The lead guitar is something straight out of the 70s and it’s awesome. Don’t let the lyrics fool you into thinking this is a ballad. The frenzied chorus of “I love you / I’ll hold you / I need you more than you could know” is belted out with an urgency that gets you singing along after the first listen. “Ice Queen” builds up, slows down and builds up again, culminating with a sound like a plane descending back to earth after a wild flight.
MammaBear has dazzled us once again with an outstanding work of art in the form of Chocolate. It’s definitely been worth the wait.
Chocolate differs from the band’s first album vol. 1: “Birds of Paradise” (2013) by being a bit more experimental. This spirit of experimentation is informed by the influences of ambient and electronic music. Yet fans will also be happy to hear a continuing tradition of psychedelia and straight-up rock’n’roll, which stands at the core of MammaBear’s unique sound.
The record begins and ends with ambient instrumental tracks that serve as relaxing soundscapes to ease us into the recording and then ease us back out into the day-to-day world. I especially like “Pursuit Of Happiness,” with its shimmery groove, beautiful guitar melodies and Pink Floyd-esque vibe.
A couple of amazing songs previously released on EP; “Strange Love” and “Kick Me” (from The Strange Love EP) were not included on Chocolate, possibly because they are from 2015. Yet one can still hope these two gems will appear on a full length MammaBear record in the future. However, “Cruise Control” and “Wherever She’s There” from the 2016 EP Hell Cat do appear on the new LP.
“Cruise Control” is a rippling, rolling trek into gorgeous psychedelic territory. This upbeat yet affecting anti-war song features sophisticated, savvy lyrics and a triumphantly wailing guitar. It’s even more timely now than when it was released on EP in February of this year. The lyric “is it me or has the world gone mad?” is especially poignant, and something I catch myself saying a lot as we get closer and closer to our country’s presidential election.
“Too Slow” is a soothing, dreamy trip down the winding path of self-reflection. It utilizes repetition to good effect, with backing vocal tracks repeating a refrain of “who are you?” The lead vocal entreats “so who are you? so tell me who?” becoming more insistent and pronounced as the song progresses. A shouted “who” rides the coattails of an Oasis-like guitar solo and punctuates the song nicely. This song is meant to evoke a specific emotion in the listener; to make us aware that we aren’t as isolated and different from others as we may feel.
“Show I Care” wins you over with its propulsive rhythms, cascading guitar hook and soaring vocals. It makes excellent use of the loud-quiet-loud dynamic shifts that we have come to know and love in MammaBear’s music.
My favorite song from Chocolate is “Ice Queen,” a no-holds-barred rocker driven by a gravelly rhythm guitar hook. The lead guitar is something straight out of the 70s and it’s awesome. Don’t let the lyrics fool you into thinking this is a ballad. The frenzied chorus of “I love you / I’ll hold you / I need you more than you could know” is belted out with an urgency that gets you singing along after the first listen. “Ice Queen” builds up, slows down and builds up again, culminating with a sound like a plane descending back to earth after a wild flight.
MammaBear has dazzled us once again with an outstanding work of art in the form of Chocolate. It’s definitely been worth the wait.
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