The long-awaited full-length return from the masters of funk punk mayhem, Mammal is here with 'The Penny Drop'

Naarm/Melbourne masters of funk punk mayhem, Mammal finally deliver their latest full-length album, ‘The Penny Drop’ - their first studio album since the revered ‘The Majority’ (released in 2008).

The band have teased singles over the past few years, but ramped things up with the first taste of the album with last year’s ‘Keanu Reeves’, followed by the titular track of the album early in February.

The climate, political, sociological, and economical is ripe for content to fan the flames under the machine that is Mammal, with ‘The Penny Drop’ consistently calling out the wrongs of the world around us, while emphatically flexing the group’s revitalised sonic direction and eclectic sonic influences.

Frontman Ezekial Ox shares what drove the album, lyrically, as well as the creative process.

“The main themes on the album are politics… setting up guillotines, smashing the fash, punching up, our inability to tolerate fools. Musically, fresh, mature, sexy bare bones rock and fucking roll. This album is not for the kids. It's grown up fun. Pete [Williamson] wrote 100 riffs in 30 days, Zane [Rosanoski] turned them into songs with his V-drums and laptop in another month, then I came down from Newcastle and free-styled for 24 hours over two wild days in Melbourne. After that Jimi Maroudas came on board to produce and hone the 17 best tracks, which became the 12 on the album. After plenty of arguments, compromises and massaging by Forrester [Savell] later, we decided we were done.”

The whole album burns with the intensity expected from the four-piece, the first five tracks (including singles, ‘The Penny Drop’ and ‘Keanu Reeves’ come thick and fast with the relentless groove, and dirty riffs (courtesy of guitarist Pete Williamson), coming to a climax with the swagger of ‘Slings and Arrows’ and the borderline thrash of ‘Hit Me’ (including some absolute pummelling double-kick work from drummer Zane Rosanoski). At the mid-point, Ezekial Ox embraces the theatrical and the passion on ‘Doubt’, before the band head back to the nu funk punk tones on ‘Agree to Disagree’. Mammal bring the tribal beats to the table, and let bassist Kade Turner get super-rubbery on ‘Bottom End’, which features some extra sass courtesy of Fresh Violet. Heading into the home stretch, and there’s no letting up with ‘Live Bold and Dangerous’, ‘Make It Count’ and ‘Five Days’ bringing the album to a close, the only exception being the slight diversion into prog territory on ‘Maybe’, acting as a little breather.

‘The Penny Drop’ is definitely the album we’ve been needing (and wanting) from a band that doesn’t mince words (or riffs). Mammal aren’t here to fuck spiders… they’re here to drop elasticised, electrified, funk-fried, groove-fused punk bombs that blow your minds.

‘The Penny Drop’ is out now on all streaming platforms.