Short Reviews [Mammal Machine - 2010 - "Esoteric Rituals"]

MAMMAL MACHINE is a Japanese project instigated by Yumi Hara Cawkwell in 2010 as a live and studio entity. So far they have one album to their name, "Mitsugi (Esoteric Rituals)", which was released by the Japanese label Captain Trip Records in the fall of 2010. The 11 tracks on this disc cover a large span of the psychedelic music universe, often staying within the realms of art rock, improvised in nature and spirit more often than not, with some live recordings in between the studio creations. Most pieces fall within the description heavy psychedelic rock to my ears, with a distinct, dark bass motif as the most common foundation, backed by steady and at times sophisticated drum patterns. The guitar caters for most of the obviously improvised excursions, the keyboards having more of a subservient role in the arrangements even when improvising. This approach is explored in a myriad of different manners, from freaked out massive noise cascades on one extreme to the gentle piano-driven final number, but most often in a psych-drenched heavy prog expression, mostly instrumental too, vocals generally utilized in a limited fashion. This is an intriguing and varied disc, in interest as well as in scope, and a production that appears to be aimed towards an audience with a dedicated taste for refined improvised psychedelic music. Well worth checking out if you feel you can subscribe to such a description.

Olav M Bjornsen: March 21, 2012