Review: Emergence by Land Mammal

Land Mammal arrives on the psychedelic side of the heavy music I listen to. A strong 60s vibe blended with some nice riffs. Doesn’t hurt that they’re local to me as well.

Emergence is Land Mammal’s third album if I’m counting correctly. Doors to Reality opens this one with a blend of sitar sounds and background noise that seems to morph from some sort of social event into ocean sounds and then bleeds into the next track Tear You Down. It keeps the sitar element, and the vocals come in pushed back a little from the instrumentation, giving it that slight Mystic sound.

The title track, Emergence, rolls in next with some ambient noise and nice bass line paired with some cryptic vocals slowly bringing you in. This track has a Middle Eastern vibe with the percussion. Guitar slowly emerges along with some sitar and drum kit. Love the feel of this song.

Separation follows, starting with some flute sounds and ambient filler, and adding in some subdued mellow chanting before bringing in the riff as it transitions into Divide. The blend of instruments on the intro riff has a very cool sound. Killer track that has a familiar sound, but I can’t quite tell what it reminds me of. Great breakdowns in this one.

I Am is bled right into with some hypnotic vocals. The more I listen, the more I hear a mixture of that 60s sound with 90s sound. Great blend of sound and style. The added percussion works well where it is introduced. The twangy guitar textures blend well, too.

Now it goes into The Circle. Kicks off with percussion and guitar, and quickly brings in the vocals. The Circle starts off mellow for a moment and then kicks it up. Though the vocals may seem a little behind the instruments, I love the way it is mixed and the choice of effects throughout the album.

Transcendence Parts 1 & 2 close out the album. Mixing the Middle Eastern vibe with some twangy spaghetti western sounding guitars has a killer effect. The addition of the organ blends into the textures created. These two tracks are a nice pairing of psychedelic jamming. Not sure why they are broken into two tracks, but who am I to judge artistic choices. Doesn’t change anything about them since seamlessly meld together without even noticing it.

Recommended, so go listen or grab some vinyl if you do that.