The songwriting prowess of Emma Kupa has been on display with both Standard Fare and her solo releases. The robust indie song-craft of Emma is what powers the music of Mammoth Penguin. The trio's second record, Here is full of sharply-rendered stuff, with each cut delivering hooks and heart.
Songs like "I Know the Signs" will earn this lot a bunch of comparisons to The Beths, and those wouldn't be far off the mark. Still, there's a nice vulnerability creeping through the riffs of "Everything That I Write", for example. Emma's voice is a supple instrument, alternating between insistence and resignation almost on a dime. To me, a more apt comparison might be to early Catatonia. Mammoth Penguins favor a harder-edged rock, but at least on the title cut there's a hint of a more lyrical side. On this down-tempo number, a listener may hear traces of Bettie Serveert and others from the past, though Mammoth Penguins are doing their best in 2024 to find a way to make that kind of thing fresh and original all over again. Judging from the results on Here, they're succeeding, of course.
Here by Mammoth Penguins is out now via Fika Recordings.
[Photo: Fika Recordings]