by Charles Davis (@GreatWaveBand)
Residing somewhere between Black Dice, A Love Supreme, and the forever immortalized Frank Black line “got killed by 10,000,000 pounds of sludge from New York and New Jersey,” Mamaleek’s latest full- length release, Come and See, offers us the far reaches of a multiverse. One whose outer limits we’ve been quested to explore: that which is in within ourselves.
Conceptually based on post-war housing, one can feel the pulse of life existing within the album’s walls. The sort that comes to fruition when living is pushed to its capacity. Concrete, steel, and drywall; obnoxiously lit vestibules paired alongside shadow obscured gutters; shots fired into the air on New Year’s Eve - there is a menace here that exists beneath the surface, and that which must be kept from the door.
Albeit ‘black metal’ via genre locating name (and its depth of nothingness vacuuming like a black hole), in reality, this is a truly unique musical aesthetic; unquestionably 100% it’s own. Scream-shout vocals pulse with complex-but-groovy rhythms, allowing melodic textures within the instrumentation to blaze trails otherwise yet ventured. Guitars roar out the amps; their vibrations seem as though they could lift you off your feet. The ‘liveness’ of the sound is clear, encompassing a total experience. Listeners feel front and center at a performance, while the warmth of the recording allows these emotions to be intricately defined. Indeed, the weight of the heaviness resounds all around when coupled with such elaborately sculpted dynamics.
While one might suppose these ideas are far beyond the sphere of ‘pop’, what is perhaps most impressive about Come and See is the catchiness of the songs. People outside of the generalized ‘metal’ scope may also approach this (if open), as the sonic display alone is enough to entertain. Adding to an already impressive catalogue, Mamaleek have created an exceptional blend of otherwise, oft thought, incompatible styles. Come and See is yet another feather in the cap for the band and their label, The Flenser, leaving the listener wanting more of this ‘surf-funk-jazz-metal’ we’ve been gifted.