“The worst thing you can say about a Mamalarky song is, ‘this sounds like another song of yours’.” Bassist Noor Khan sets out the band’s philosophy and it is one that they adhere to successfully on their latest album, ‘Hex Key’. Whilst it is pertinent to point out that its changes could be more extreme (for example, there are no traces of thrash metal, spiritual jazz, grime or easy listening big bands), within the parameters of psychedelic pop, math rock tinged indie they do display considerable variety during its thirteen songs.
Wisely, ‘Hex Key’ starts with the demonstrative, superlative, hook-ladened ‘Broken Bones’, featuring crunchy guitar riffs from Livvy Bennett and keyboard flourishes courtesy of Michael B. Hunter. While Bennett’s lyrics speak of being emotionally stunted and not letting feelings show, the song itself feels incredibly expressive. ‘Won’t Give Up’ begins as the sort of psychedelic disco associated with Tame Impale before opening out with a euphoric keyboard led chorus. It indicates that not only do Mamalarky create songs that sound different from each other but also shift radically throughout the song’s duration so the beginning is no indicator of how the track will develop. Such shapeshifting makes them the anti-Status Quo.
The only song weighing in over the four-minute mark, ‘The Quiet’ builds from stylophone, improvised percussion and whispered vocals, shifting between that style and a grander balladeering which gives the best indication of Bennett’s vocal range. It looks back at a youthful self being manipulated (“you were such a fraud… unkept pinky swear… I once had such fun, I would be the one / who would jump in a tall field of flowers.”) In contrast, the title track has distorting keys and heavier bass while it’s melodic manipulations aptly recall Melody’s Echo Chamber. There is a greater lyrical optimism (“this is the pinnacle / you’re what I’m looking for / if we become a pair / blissfully unaware / of any earthly cares.”)
Writing this review, it seems that each description of the following track could begin with the words “in contrast.” This would be applicable to ‘Anhedonia’, a song about feeling truly awful (“I don’t even trust me anymore”) even though it opens with bold, sunny but spacey guitar chords. It also displays their modus operandi, an intuitive but tightly focussed approach that pushes the track to its limits while retaining the ease of a pop song. Side One ends with ‘#1Best of All Time’ heading in a totally unexpected direction. Its origins came from asking Dylan Hill to play something crazy on the drums, a brief he met to the letter. It provides the basis around which frantic bass weaves bubbling patterns. Late 1970s post-punk funk is a reference point, along with the late 90s junkshop cut-up technique of Solex. As a song about expelling doubt and being the best version of yourself, it is a winner.
Side Two opens with the much slower paced ‘Take Me’ which has a slinky, funky groove alongside a comedic desperation in begging “I’m holding to your pant leg hoping you won’t leave.” ‘MF’ proves to be as sweary as its title hints. A radio edit would be pointless. It has their heaviest riffs but delivered with a Deerhoof like range of twists and turns. Led by its percussion, ‘Blow Up’ revels in contradictions and has a Pom Pokoish tinge to its abrasive rhythmic melodicism and tricksy time signatures. The dynamics of its chorus, “I might just blow up / I’m fine” followed by a shouted “no I’m not” is particularly stunning before the song introduces a keyboard break reminiscent of recent White Denim.
‘Blush’ sets out in space age jazz pop territory before signing off with some prog keyboard and drums grandstanding. A sign of Mamalarky’s justifiable confidence can be seen from saving the album’s first two singles until almost the record’s end. ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ has some mesmerising guitar and keyboard loops. It conveys the sultry heat in which it was created, revels in the contradictions of whether a relationship’s perfection is permanent or temporary and has a relaxed pop charm. ‘Feels So Wrong’ is one of their least challenging tracks with an almost nostalgic soft rock air, albeit one that duels with the song’s narrative about events that bring immediate happiness not having the same meaning as struggling through the muck of daily life. ‘Hex Key’ ends with ‘Here’s Everything’ which could be their musical motto. It is a subdued piece with the band reduced to the core duo of Bennett and Hunter but is devastatingly emotional in its depiction of magic in a first meeting.
For a record that eschews sonic consistency, ‘Hex Key’ has a uniformly high success rate. It is an album that should appeal equally to lovers of melodic hooks and dynamic changing time signatures. It makes for one of the year’s most unexpected gems.
Mamalarky: Hex Key – Out 11 April 2025 (Epitaph Records)
– “#1 Best of All Time” (Official Music Video)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
