Take A Lover borrows heavily from the era of free love, with a mellower form of hallucinogenic rock compared to previous records.
The Londoners create a kaleidoscopic cauldron, finding ingredients from garage rock, blues, 60s prog and doom, tossing it all into their rich elixir of heavy stoner rock with a dose of rusty psychedelic riffage – resulting in a unique concoction that sets them apart.
The vocals are rugged and bluesy, with opening track The Great German sending Robert Plant-style vibes, while Morning has a haunting tone more reminiscent of Mad Season mixed with 60s keyboard sounds. Despite having a slightly less demonising title than last year’s Horror At Pleasure, Early Mammal have hung onto their occult aesthetic with the edition of spoken-word track, Magic, Art & Bells – taking a line from Dr Faustus that sits with you as you drink in the final track.
If there were music to embody that mindbending feeling of being blazed after a heavy night, this would be it.
