Portsmouth Herald
Feb 9 2006

"Departure," the soon-to-be-released follow-up to the successful 2004 release "Rock That Babe," is, just as the name suggests, a departure of sorts for the Mammals. Fresh off their lengthy tour with Arlo Guthrie, the Mammals are set to release (on Feb. 21) what very well could be their most polished and best effort to date. Their ability to produce unique, modern, pop infused roots music mixed with timely, educated lyrics are far superior than most music heard on FM radio today.

The Mammals, which consist of Durham natives Chris Merenda (drums), and Michael Merenda (vocals, guitars, banjos), as well as Tao Rodriguez-Seeger (vocals, guitars, banjos, harmonica), Jacob Silver (all bass work), and Ruth Unger (vocals, fiddle, ukulele, guitar) - have formed a steadily increasing fan base since the turn of the century surrounding their contemporary traditional sound, incorporating plenty of banjo and fiddle licks sure to set the floor ablaze with foot stompin’. On "Departure," the banjo and fiddle are still in the mix, but with the addition of electric guitar(!), organ, and piano striking, the sound has drifted into a different realm; a realm which the Mammals have successfully conquered.

There are no traditional tunes on this record, which is something different for this group. Instead, they carefully brought three cover songs to the table, all of which excel in the way that the band has made these songs their own. The Mammals cover Morphine’s "Do Not Go Quietly Unto Your Grave," which has an eerie Skip James type feel to it. Also making the cut were Red Hayes’ and Jack Rhodes’ "Satisfied Mind," (made famous by Bob Dylan), and at the top of the list was Kurt Cobain’s "Come As You Are," which is stripped down, and accentuated by the sultry singing of Ungar, and highlighted by Tao’s Harmonica playing, which takes the place of Cobain’s distorted solo riffing in the middle of the tune.

Furthermore, the songwriting by the band is intense, and well-versed on this record. Michael Merenda seems to take on the brunt of the writing, and willingly so (not to take away from the brilliant songwriting also offered on the record from Tao, and Ungar). His talent is shown on the opening chapter to the album "Follow Me to Carthage," as well as Kill the Break of the Day," "Tryin’ to Remember What City I Know You From," and the stellar "Alone on the Homestead," a moving piece written and sung by Merenda from the perspective of a woman who lost her brothers, father, and husband to war.

The "Departure" in this sense is certainly welcome and a great sign of things to come.