***"Famous Mammals were already going to be fantastic the moment they decided to form as a pandemic avocation in 2020, considering they’d been birthed from the flames of recent Oakland, CA scene-definers Rays, The World and Andy Human & The Reptoids. Yet when their wonderfully sharp & confounding self-titled tape came out in 2021, they were better than that, even. Their initial sound clicked along, searched and then found oblique treasure in a deep DIY post-punk void one might associate with 39 Clocks or the Swell Maps - sometimes aggressively sharp and pointed, other times given to captivating and off-centered murky quaalude meandering in all the ways you love. I’m a big fan of Stanley Martinez’ vocals and guitar, and have been since the first time I saw & heard Rays, and he transported his A-game to a recording session yet again. Likewise Amber Sermeno—we all swooned for her fronting The World, and while we only get one lone track w/her vocals, it might even be the best thing on here: the chugging & propulsive 'Unspoken Chair'. Andy Human—well, that guy just moves from strength to strength, excelling as a bass player here and general instrumental conductor of an echoey and wide-open sound partially transported from the hinterlands, moors and home studios of 1979 Northern England. To my ears, this was the first truly great set of recordings to emerge from a 'pandemic band', and now that they’ve gone on to be a full-fledged recording project and occasional touring band...