Bear The Mammoth – Yamadori (2014)

After spending long days watching Border Security, I can only think of Australia as a distant place far away from Newport that has pretty strict rules on fruit and vegetable importation. It never crosses my mind to consider it for its instrumental scene, which is, unfortunately, pretty non-existent. Despite this, one can’t help but come across a few gems that have slipped through the cracks and risen to the surface.

Bear The Mammoth have been active since 2012, putting out a split 7″ and an EP, In Absence, both of which you can purchase from their Bandcamp for 1 Australian dollar (£0.55 so definitely worth picking up). Their newest release, Yamadori, has had me sitting on the edge of my chair for the past few days. After repeated listens, Yamadori still manages to catch me out and I find myself completely lost in its tracks. The tight flow of the album lends itself to the beautifully interlinked changes between harrowing walls of guitar to charmingly riff-tastic riffage. Most tracks on the album are over 7 minutes long, which gives the album a slow, cool pace and adds to the post rock feel. The instruments have a lot of reverb, which really makes the sound resonate attractively. This album appears as an elegant but fragile piece of work but will quite happily punch you in the face just to remind you it’s not fucking about. Yamadori‘s strengths lie within its presentation as an album; the constantly changing feel and sound make it unpredictable and encapsulating.

Although the instrumental scene in Australia probably isn’t going to be more popular then the mishaps of Australian Border Security any time soon, Yamadori is a hopeful reminder that there is a scene out there, and it’s producing some pretty exciting stuff.