Dear old Perth. It’s not often much happens in the sleepy city, but recently it has given us more than enough to start drooling over. Meet Mink Mussel Creek – a small group of guitar shredding psychedelic legends that will get your blood pumping and your body aching for more.
With a stellar lineup including Nick Allbrook and Kevin Parker (made famous through their involvement in both Pond and Tame Impala), Mink Mussel Creek began in 2007 when they smashed the touring scene and played over 100 shows, including a one week stint where they managed to fit in a whopping ten shows.
Kevin and Nick are cashing in on the old Mink Mussel Creek stuff, and have released a thirteen minute track in the leadup to the re-release of Mink Mussel Manticore.
In 2008 they attempted to produce their debut album, however recording dramas arose and the production was quickly put to a holt, leading to the demise of Mink Mussel Creek in 2009. From the ashes, Tame Impala and Pond started rising steadily in popularity, but the love for Mink Mussel Creek never died.
In 2011 the band was revived, and the five-piece began re-recording the album in the Norfolk Basement – producing even better results than the first time around. Finally, the seven-track album, Mink Mussel Manticore, was released on a USB wristband. Fast forward to 2014 and the thirst for more Mink Mussel has not yet washed away. Finally, the time has come for Mink Mussel Manticore to be re-released – this time both digitally and on vinyl through Spinning Top, with a possible tour on the horizon.
Who is this persistent and passionate band though? Why should you care? To that, my friend, I say they are awesome. They are continuing to produce amazing sounds, the success of their other projects seeming only to reinvigorate the band’s creativity. Listen to the 13-minute spectacular They Dated Steadily to understand why it is that you need to get behind this beautiful creation.
The single starts bold, beautiful and lo-fi, with all the psychedelic goodness you could ever hope for. It’s the kind of music that moves through you, flowing with an intensity and a purpose. They Dated Steadily is so clever in the way that it ebbs and flows.
The elements of the track move so gently from high to low, with lyrics becoming more prevalent then fading back as if they are nothing more than the extension of the guitar. The shredding in this song though needs a special kind of attention.
It is the kind of playing you feel to your core – if you feel psychedelic music in your mind then this is something you feel in your body – it is nothing less than incredible. These guys are more than musicians, they are artists. You can tell they feel the music just as much as you do listening back to it.
They Dated Steadily is the kind of effortlessly technical music you would expect from Nick and Kevin, but Mink Mussel Creek seems to be more than Pond or Tame Impala, existing alongside and outside of the success of those bands. It’s a combination of the two, and it’s the most magical music you could put to your ears this week.
It’s best we start begging the music gods for that tour, and for the LP to be released on something other than wristband USB.
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