Mammals - Look Around You

It's always a pleasure to spread the word about really good power pop bands. John Buckwalter recently recommended Mammals as a band I might be into. He was right! Mammals are a garagey power pop trio from Chicago who have been releasing music for a few years now. New single "Look Around You" is already the band's third. I like that this band takes inspiration from multiple eras of melody-driven guitar pop and manages to craft its own unique sound. They take bits and pieces of '60s rock and roll, classic era power pop, and even some modern garage and punk and mold it all into something that's uniquely theirs. Here the opening track surprises with a lengthy instrumental intro before settling into a mellow psychedelic groove a la later '60s Kinks/Who or even early '80s Paisley Underground. You can hear the influence of '60s garage jangle on the and haunting (and very catchy) "In The Darkness". To finish, "Expanding Heart" is a snappy and melody-rich number that kind of reminds me of a punched-up Simon and Garfunkel. This is a really cool record that puts some interesting twists on the standard power pop formula. It revisits the classic sounds of '60s pop music without coming off as consciously "revivalist". If you like what you hear, be sure to also check out the tracks "The Hours" and "No Easy Way" from Mammals' previous singles. All three singles are available from Mammals' Bandcamp, so go check 'em out!



 -L.R.

https://mammals.bandcamp.com/album/look-around-you 
https://www.facebook.com/mammalsband