Mammal - Lonesome Drifter

Mammal
Lonesome Drifter
(2007, Animal Disguise Recordings)
Verdict = Torturously Draining

Something about Mammal’s 2007 release, Lonesome Drifter, feels completely devoid of water. Water may not seem like the most likely component of music, but somehow Lonesome Drifter seems to emphasize its dry, barren landscapes; it seems to parade its alien survival without this essential element. The album’s dusty, dehydrated grit is so tangible it almost induces cotton mouth like a vacuum sucking away your saliva. Constructed with crushing power electronics that were most likely manufactured by the sand people (Tusken Raiders to be exact) Mammal looms dauntingly on Lonesome Drifter as each track feels like a wall of sand pummeling relentlessly against your ear. Mammal have adopted both Guitar fuzz and excruciating feedback and I mean it when I say excruciating. Occasionally coupled with a slow pounding drum, enduring each track can become an exercise in masochism or, especially when the drum is pounding, like awaiting execution by firing squad. The minor moments when vocals appear on the album do provide some type of redemption but are no consolation for the rest of the album. All and all, Lonesome Drifter is literally punishing and if that is your thing, well, I don’t know what to say – maybe don’t be so hard on yourself.

-Mr. Thistle

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