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MammaBear - “My House” Review

Read More MammaBear 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 ....

Atlanta’s MammaBear have been hard at work on their third album SAY, following closely on the heels of their sophomore album, 2016’s Chocolate. SAY promises to be a gritty and unpolished gem of a record; a pleasantly raw version of the classic MammaBear sound.

my house, my town, my sound

SAY’s first single, “My House,” is a song that seems to scream: “Our name is MammaBear and this is who we are, mother***er.” Frontman Kyle Gordon belts out a rapid-fire litany of all things MammaBear… my house, my town, my sound… offering us an unobstructed view inside the heart and soul of this indomitable band.

Gordon’s shouted litany breaks into his signature husky howl on the chorus, and powerhouse guitar riffs are ever-present throughout the song, which roars along fast and steady like a freight train.

The group, which has coalesced nicely around what began as a solo project for Gordon, presents a tight unit of satisfyingly badass musicianship. It’s a beautiful thing to see Gordon united with other musicians who share his vision for what a truly superb band should sound like.

More new MammaBear singles… and SAY… are eagerly anticipated.

dena ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

MammaBear: Chocolate

MammaBear: Chocolate Release Date: October 7, 2016 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 Chocolate track listing: Song Scape Firefly Wake Up Cruise Control Ice Queen Too Slow Wherever She’s There Show I Care Animal Blood Pursuit Of Happiness Read More MammaBear MammaBear sounds like English bands Oasis and T. Rex, and on occasion Kyle Gordon’s vocals remind me of Devendra Banhart. Some online research unearthed ....

On October 7^th, 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.

dena ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

AthFest: Lazer/Wulf, Bambara, Shehehe, Double Ferrari, MammaBear (25 June 2016)

Lazer/Wulf Setlist     The Caledonia Lounge (6/25/2016) The Caledonia Lounge Choose Right New Song (Prayer Furnace) Lagarto Triple Trap Bambara Setlist Her Sister Touya Stop All The Ugly Things An Ill Son Filled Up With Night All The Same I Don’t Mind Shehehe Setlist Teenager Endless Summer Days Off Saully Happy Daze Wonder Years Punch Out Sorry You Love Me Away From Me Costa Rica Dreamin’ Multiple Choice Exam JMA School Kid Read More AthFest Prepare yourselves to see and hear some amazing local and regional bands at AthFest Music & Arts Festival 2016, running from June 24-26 in Athens, GA… Lazer/Wulf Lazer/Wulf will be releasing their debut album The Beast of Left and Right on July 15th via Retro Futurist Records. The Georgia-based instrumental trio will join Kylesa for a European… MammaBear MammaBear sounds like English bands Oasis and T. Rex, and on occasion Kyle Gordon’s vocals remind me of Devendra Banhart. Some online research unearthed ....

AthFest Music & Arts Festival 2016 just celebrated their 20th anniversary in Athens, Georgia, on June 24 to 26.

AthFest Day Two: 6/25/2016

AthFest 2016 was a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Athens’ stellar music and arts festival, and there was a lot to celebrate. To sum up AthFest, I am going to quote Jace Bartet of Athens’ own Double Ferrari, a band whose performance I had the distinct pleasure of witnessing at the Caledonia Lounge on Saturday:

“AthFest is my favorite time of year to be a human. Friends converge together in genuine appreciation of our uniquely Athens-tinged music and art while everyone sweats and doesn’t drink enough water, but we’re all in it together.”

He is so spot-on about that. When this beloved festival comes, summer has just begun and it’s already scorching hot, but AthFest washes away my wintertime blues and makes me feel gloriously human again.

This year several downtown bars threw day parties for people who needed a break from the heat. Little Kings Shuffle Club hosted several bands playing short sets during this time. The standout performance in this lineup was Atlanta band MammaBear.

MammaBear at Little Kings Shuffle Club (06/25)

MammaBear began as the brainchild of lead singer/guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Kyle Gordon, which evolved into a full band for live shows and then for subsequent recordings.

I was told that MammaBear puts on a terrific live show, and I was not disappointed. I’m looking forward to seeing them play a full set at The Caledonia Lounge on August 18th. Their new album Chocolate will be released this October.

Shehehe at Caledonia Lounge (06/25)

On Saturday night, The Caledonia Lounge was packed to the gills with guitars and math rock, as well as Athens punk favorites Shehehe and the hard to define noise-rock of Bambara, a band that started in Athens and currently resides in Brooklyn.

If My Bloody Valentine and Ministry could come together to conceive a dark and brooding child, that child would be Bambara. They take you down a shadowed path and drown your brain in cascading loops of sound. Lead singer and guitarist Reid Bateh combines about 16 different effects pedals with his spellbinding voice and guitar and uses these elements all together as if they were one instrument. He’s got a fierce and moody charisma onstage that belies his offstage down-to-earth demeanor. Reid’s fraternal twin, Blaze Bateh, smashes his drums with such fierceness that it’s nearly impossible for a humble smartphone camera to capture him as anything other than a blur of motion. I have not witnessed such amazing drumming since the last time I saw Ed Livengood of Jucifer play, and that was a long time ago. Bambara’s haunting soundscapes are rounded out by the pounding bass lines of William Brookshire, who also happens to be a sound engineer.

Bambara at Caledonia Lounge (06/25)

All of the songs Bambara played were amazing, but my favorite was An Ill Son from their newly released album Swarm. In spite of all the complexities of their sound, Bambara still manages to sound just as good live as they do on their records. This is no small task given the fact that they do not rely on any pre-recorded material during their live shows.

Double Ferrari at Caledonia Lounge (06/25)

The Saturday night lineup for The Caledonia went in this order: Art Contest, Shehehe, Bambara, Double Ferrari and Lazer/Wulf. I got my hair blown back by how much I like Art Contest now that I’ve seen them live. There is so much talent in that duo. This was my first Shehehe show and now I see what all the fuss is about. Bambara was brilliant and left me reeling. Then we got some straight-ahead rock in our faces when Double Ferrari took the stage. Frontman/guitarist Jace Bartet rocked our world with his sparkling blue and white Dean guitar.

Then our Saturday night headliner Lazer/Wulf took the stage. This Atlanta band plays a drum-tight style of math rock with punk and metal sensibilities. These three guys play their instruments with an unrivaled speed and precision. Their hard, driving music features minimal vocals and super positivity which instantly connected with this crowd and drove them into a mosh-filled frenzy. We all left The Caledonia that night feeling pleasantly exhausted and totally exhilarated.

Lazer/Wulf at the Caledonia Lounge, Athens (25 June 2016)

dena ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

MammaBear: Hell Cat EP review

Hell Cat EP Tracklisting 01 Hell Cat 02 Cruise Control 03 Wherever She's There Release Date: 15 February 2016 Read More MammaBear Much like a film trailer that keeps your eyes glued to the screen and makes you say, “Oh, I’ve gotta see that!” MammaBear’s The Strange Love EP is a ....

When I’m writing a review I hesitate to compare one band to another- but then again, a comparison is a reference point that can make the difference as to whether or not the reader will be interested enough to actually listen to the band’s music. MammaBear sounds like English bands Oasis and T. Rex, and on occasion Kyle Gordon’s vocals remind me of Devendra Banhart. Some online research unearthed a connection between these musical acts. Banhart has also been compared to T. Rex; actually he’s been compared to Marc Bolan’s first, more folk-based incarnation of T. Rex; Tyrannosaurus Rex. I also discovered that Oasis has great respect for Banhart’s engineering work, to the point that they placed their album Dig Out Your Soul in his hands and gave him free rein to remix any tracks he chose.

While the above acts are merely bands that remind me of MammaBear, I also delved into their own personal influences. Perhaps the biggest influence on Kyle Gordon’s writing is English new-wave rock band XTC and the songwriting style of frontman/guitarist Andy Partridge. During a 30 year career, XTC managed to garner critical accolades and even a few hits, while still retaining their cult status.

Following July 2015’s The Strange Love EP comes MammaBear’s latest brilliant EP, Hell Cat, slated for release on February 15. This EP features 3 tracks: Hell Cat, Cruise Control and Wherever She’s There. As we’ve come to expect, this music is energetic, spellbinding and brilliantly written.

Track 1, Hell Cat, triggers happiness right off the bat with its joy and danceability. It features multiple vocal tracks that harmonize and a gorgeous keyboard solo followed by an equally gorgeous guitar solo. If you want an idea of how the keyboard sounds, imagine House of the Rising Sun by The Animals, but a lot more upbeat and playful. True to MammaBear form, this song deftly goes from loud to quiet, then back to loud. It comes as no surprise that the guitar hook is energetic and catchy as hell.

Track 2, Cruise Control, is my personal favorite. One of the reasons this song is so pleasing to the ear is its seamless transitions from chorus to verse. During the verses, a simple background of guitar strums and a stripped down drum and tambourine beat pull you into the song’s rhythm while also putting focus on the lyrics. These are unmistakably folk style lyrics, but with a rock sound and sensibility. The song has a wailing rock guitar hook, and the hand claps make you want to sing along.

What I first noticed about Cruise Control is its sophisticated lyrics. Smart and savvy, they show a deep understanding of the modern world and of history’s tendency to repeat itself, unless we learn from the mistakes of the past. Following in the footsteps of visionaries such as John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, Kyle Gordon has written a dazzling anti-war song with a rock spirit and a call for peace: “let all be damned / let there be peace / I don’t mean far away / but here for you and me.”

There is a most excellent pause in the line “is it me or has the world gone_mad?” This tiny pause between the words “gone” and “mad” adds a great deal of passion and earnestness to the words, and makes the vocal delivery hit harder. Another iteration of this line features a sustained note on the word “mad,” which is also affecting. MammaBear is all about putting pauses in all the right places in their songs, in addition to their expert use of extreme dynamic shifts from loud to quiet.

The final track, Wherever She’s There, is a departure from the other songs on the Hell Cat EP. Whereas the first two tracks feature energetic loud/quiet shifts, there is none of that element here; Wherever She’s There is all quiet. Lulling, languid and smooth, this is by far the most chilled out song on the EP. The dreamy lyrics could be emanating from a tunnel. The layered vocal tracks give the impression of a lead vocalist accompanied by background singers. Something about these harmonizing vocal tracks bring to mind the overall vibe of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys. Tambourine keeps a slow but steady beat. The acoustic guitar tracks have a jangly, almost country-western feel. The electric guitar tracks are laden with MammaBear’s signature lulling distortion, bending notes in the tradition of My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins.

Yet again, MammaBear has delivered a stellar EP. We’re all speculating and hoping these EPs will coalesce into a full length album in the near future. I’m looking forward to hearing what they come up with next.

dena ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

MammaBear: The Strange Love EP

The Strange Love EP Tracklisting 01 Kick Me 02 Strange Love Release Date: 01 August 2015 Read More T. Rex For those who aren't familiar with this band, especially people outside of the UK, T-Rex was basically Marc Bolan, who help fueled a glam rock movement in British music in the 70s. …

Much like a film trailer that keeps your eyes glued to the screen and makes you say, “Oh, I’ve gotta see that!” MammaBear’s The Strange Love EP is a teaser; a taste of greatness yet to come. This EP consists of the first two singles from the band’s highly anticipated second album, which will be released in the Spring of 2016 and has yet to be named. This new album will add additional musicians to the brainchild of Atlanta singer and multi-instrumentalist Kyle Gordon, former frontman for Young Orchids.

Impressively, Gordon did everything himself on MammaBear’s first album, 2013’s vol. 1 “Birds of Paradise”-he wrote, produced and recorded the album, and all of the instrumentation and vocals are his alone. One of my favorite songs on this stellar album, Raven Falls, brings to mind the psychedelic sound of 1960s England. Gordon seems to channel Donovan Leitch.

The Strange Love EP was released July 29, 2015 and features Gordon’s new studio collaborators, drummer Matt Talley and bassist Kris Sampson. Kris Sampson also recorded and produced the EP. Kyle plays guitar and sings all vocal tracks, in addition to playing drums on the song Kick Me.

This EP, although only consisting of two songs, still manages to show the band’s versatility. Each song has its own style and is quite unique from the other. Also impressive is how timeless it sounds. It could have easily been released and beloved in the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, even the grunge-laden 90s; yet it also sounds fresh, new and millennial. It runs the gamut from Britpop to psychedelic Indie rock.

Track 1: Kick Me

I can get behind any song that begins with a “whoo!” It’s like “get ready, here comes the party!” Kick Me begins with a “whoo!” much like T. Rex’s 20^th Century Boy begins with an “oww!” In both songs, the singer is “sounding his barbaric yawp,” letting us know he’s alive and full of energy in a way that would make Walt Whitman proud. Kyle, much like Marc Bolan, is letting us know we’re in for some serious fun.

Kick Me is one of the most cheerful breakup songs I’ve ever heard. It’s got a great sense of humor. One must watch the video to fully appreciate just how upbeat and delightfully giggle-inducing this song is: http://youtu.be/V87fHqD4ar4

I like the tinny megaphone vocal effects and layering of vocal tracks; Kyle acts as his own backup singer and the result is magnificent. His vocals range from a snappy pop delivery to a gravelly shout. The chorus hooks you, reels you in, and won’t let go. You’ve got to be crazy not to love: “you kick me when I’m down / you treat me like a clown / and our time is over.” Prepare yourself for an excellent straight-ahead rock guitar solo. There are claps at the end of the song, and rightfully so.

Track 2: Strange Love

This band is timeless, energetic and just plain amazing.

Much of what makes this song great is its use of repetition. This repetition is omnipresent and quite effective; it pretty much only stops during the verses. Listening to the lovely, lulling guitar hook is like riding a gentle wave. The repetition of it- in its simple beauty- imprints itself on the brain. The whole song seems to undulate. The vocal echoes as if coming from outer space and close by simultaneously. The chorus is mostly a simple repeat of “I need a strange love,” alternating with “I want a rag doll,” and “am I the rag doll?” On occasion there are these fantastic breaks in the music where it slows to a crawl and then kicks back in with a suddenness that delivers a pleasant shock to the system. There is one particular break where the music very nearly stops altogether as Kyle is half speaking/half singing; a heart skipping a beat. And then the hook kicks in again. A lovely and understated guitar progression that peaks and then fades into the ether ends the song, even though you don’t want it to end. I’m hard pressed to come up with any specific song that reminds me of Strange Love. I guess the closest I could come would be (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis. Yet in so many ways, I like Strange Love better. It’s more raw and more real.

I have been told that MammaBear shines brightest when seen live. The band’s live lineup includes Kyle Gordon on guitar and vocals, Josh Longino on guitar and backing vocals, Kris Sampson on bass and Troy Wolf on drums.

This band is timeless, energetic and just plain amazing. I highly recommend you listen to them, and I think you’ll see what I mean. They are headed towards greatness at warp speed.

dena ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com