Famous Mammals

Famous Mammals

It Was A Pleasant Modern Fantasy

Siltbreeze

After all these years, it's safe to say my favorite era of music ran from 1978 to 1985. That period saw prodigious talent flourishing in the Post Punk movement, & to some, (myself included) much of it remains eternal.Contemporaneously, a band that's capable of bottling such lightning is Famous Mammals from the Bay Area. 'It Was A Pleasant Modern Fantasy' is their 3rd long player (2nd time on the mordant Siltbreeze imprint) & it shows a group who know how to crack the curves into orbit. In a sweeping encapsulation,IWAPMF is akin to walking through a tabernacle where the shutters are thrown open & the melange of pastoral scents such as jasmine, honeysuckle & gardenia envelop the ponderous pop & sonic otherness wafting off this lp. Glints of Normil Hawaiians, Blue Orchids, Mekons & Television Personalities flicker like embers from the past, smoldering gloriously in the present. Sure, all construction comes from a blueprint, yet the upholstery is 100% Famous Mammals. And 'It Was A Pleasant Modern Fantasy' is a magnificent achievement, soaring high in the canon of the modern underground. And I should know. I am an expert.Professor Hortense TeagardenProfessional Expert

Famous Mammals

s/t

Inscrutable Records

***"Famous Mammals were already going to be fantastic the moment they decided to form as a pandemic avocation in 2020, considering they’d been birthed from the flames of recent Oakland, CA scene-definers Rays, The World and Andy Human & The Reptoids. Yet when their wonderfully sharp & confounding self-titled tape came out in 2021, they were better than that, even. Their initial sound clicked along, searched and then found oblique treasure in a deep DIY post-punk void one might associate with 39 Clocks or the Swell Maps - sometimes aggressively sharp and pointed, other times given to captivating and off-centered murky quaalude meandering in all the ways you love. I’m a big fan of Stanley Martinez’ vocals and guitar, and have been since the first time I saw & heard Rays, and he transported his A-game to a recording session yet again. Likewise Amber Sermeno—we all swooned for her fronting The World, and while we only get one lone track w/her vocals, it might even be the best thing on here: the chugging & propulsive 'Unspoken Chair'. Andy Human—well, that guy just moves from strength to strength, excelling as a bass player here and general instrumental conductor of an echoey and wide-open sound partially transported from the hinterlands, moors and home studios of 1979 Northern England. To my ears, this was the first truly great set of recordings to emerge from a 'pandemic band', and now that they’ve gone on to be a full-fledged recording project and occasional touring band...

Famous Mammals

Instant Pop Expressionism Now!

Siltbreeze

If the names Amber Sermeno, Andy Jordan & Stanley Martinez sound familiar, it's because they're in practically every band that matters from the SF/Bay area, A short list reads; Non Plus Temps, Children Maybe Later, Naked Roommate & not the least of which is Famous Mammals. Following a self-released cassette, 'Instant Pop Expressionism Now!' is their 1st full length vinyl effort & man is it a doozy. On their debut tape the seeds were sown for what has blossomed on this LP as a fully pollinated orchard of hybridized post punk that seemingly harkens back to the halcyon days when Rough Trade called 202 Kensington Park Road home. "Instant Pop Expressionism Now!" is an ultramodern polyglot of smatterings that at once sound familiar, but you can't quite place it. Swell Maps? Happy Refugees? Monochrome Set? Maybe. Kinda. It's in the stitching, but the design & thrust is all Famous Mammals. And while we're not prone to hubris, we are confident that 'Instant Pop Expressionism Now!' will be the hit lp of the summer everywhere from Sooty's Disco Party to Gus' Hotdog Hootenanny. If you know, you know, It's not too late to hop on board. The more the merrier. RIYL releases on; Rather Records, Refill Records, Step-Forward Records, NB Records.