Young Mammals Sink Their Teeth In On Jaguar

Young Mammals. Photo: Courtesy of Artist/Instagram

The life cycle of any band can be one of just a couple of month to that of a couple of years or longer.  When bands are around for over a decade, anyone who follows them can learn real quick that finding an overall sound can be difficult.  For Houston’s Young Mammals, there’s never been a problem in finding their overall sound, as they’ve always been a mixture of indie rock and hook filled pop.  However, getting to a more concise version of that seemed like it was more elusive until their last album Alto Seco.  On it, the band seemed to really take a more focused approach and hone their strengths as songwriters.  On their new album, Jaguar, they take that concentration to a whole new level and release their most focused and straightforward album to date.  In ten songs they showcase how strong they’ve become since their early years under The Dimes while keeping your attention from start to finish.

The band doesn’t waste any time proving how precise they are with the album’s opener “Crane.”  A searing guitar and immediate vocals greet you alongside a head bopping rhythm that prove that this leaner Young Mammals’ is also a little meaner when it comes to guitar licks and hooks.  There’s such a quick gratification to the track that the enjoyment of what’s placed fourth takes no time to get into nor does it stick around too long to grow weary of itself either.  They follow this up with the title track, the almost anthemic and boppy sounding “Jaguar.”  The bridge on this song finds the band employing new techniques while keeping things more taut and precise.  Keeping the album’s pace steadily flowing, they slow things down a step or two on the third track, “The Slight,” while not stealing any attention from the intriguing elements that they’ve utilized in the past with their intricate guitar work.

By the opening of the fourth song, “Turfed” you should realize that even on a slower song like this one, these guys have come a long way as songwriters.  The murky and spacey tones they use while holding your attention is masterful and though they sound different, it’s still recognizably the same band.  They keep their almost Smiths like influences on “I’m Sleeping,” while keeping their indie rock roots in check, following up with the slow jam vibe of “Mango Beach.”  The band definitely takes their sound to a new place on the drunken and hazy sounding track while echoing the genius of early Pixies and Pedro The Lion on the pedal soaked gem.  They follow it however, with one of the many standout tracks, “Rat In The Summer” where the band seems to indulge in their Joy Division meets Echo & the Bunnymen fantasies.  These wispy vocals and reverb soaked guitars are met with a captivating verse that is held together by a snappy beat and a thick bassline.  There’s a magic being made on this track where the band really finds new ground without deterring from their indie rock roots.  

This gets followed with a return to form on another standout track, the raucous and hook filled sound of “Auroras.”  Keeping a quick beat and a stride that gets filled with hints of The Smiths’ in throughout, the song sounds in many ways like a modern day “Rusholme Ruffians.”  The way the band crafts this undeniably catchy song structure is one of precision and heft that can’t be denied in their strengths as a unit.  The slower and softer sounding “Heavenly” lives up to its name as the band takes a stab at a ballad that pays off as it’s further from said songs in their traditional sense, while the band keeps your attention for the slow burner.  The album is closed off with a song that’s more of a traditional sound that you’ve come to expect from Young Mammals on “Morning Vice.”  Pop heavy hooks and a clever and catchy sound, the song makes you realize that while the band has definitely strengthened their overall reach as what they can do as a group, their strong suit is still the traditionally indie rock sound.  The craziest thing about the final track, is that it’s the longest on the album, though it moves along with such ease, that you don’t notice that it’s over five minutes long.

All in all, Young Mammals drop another release that showcases their strengths as a band continue to move forward while they continuously release stronger and tighter songs.  The ten song release is full of changes for a band that’s been moving forward since their first releases.  You can get your own copy of Jaguar when Young Mammals perform at the Fiftieth Anniversary of KTRU with Open Mike Eagle and -Us. On Friday, October 14th at Valhalla Bar.  The all ages show has doors at 8:30 pm and it’s 100% FREE.

by David Garrick