"Mamalarky" was always a silly band name, and now it carries the extra charge of sounding like something that Joe Biden might say when his brain glitches out. The energetic math-pop crew known as Mamalarky recently released the singles "Nothing Lasts Forever" and "Feels So Wrong," and now they're ready to announce Hex Key, their first album of the post-Biden era. Mamalarky recorded Hex Key at their LA home studio, and it features those two singles, as well as the frisky new track that they dropped today.
Mamalarky's new song has the impressively swagged-out title "#1 Best Of All Time." It's a dazed two-minute sugar rush with blissed-out vocals and rushing breakbeats, and it sounds like something that Stereolab might've made if they were in a particularly jittery mood. Here's what singer/guitarist Livvy Bennett says about it:
Through a lot of games of UNO, I’ve discovered I’m actually a pretty competitive person. And somehow, the feeling of losing has become highly motivating to me. I always feel like I’m competing against myself, trying to best my last attempt at whatever I’ve set out to do. Like, you probably can’t be the best of all time, but you’ll always be the best you of all time -- no one can dispute that. I wanted to write something that felt powerful but funny, too, like laughing in the face of doubt. 'Cause betting on yourself even when you feel like a losing horse pays off in big ways! If you can make yourself feel like you’re winning right at the moment of failure and only measure yourself against your own barometers, you’re gonna be a lot happier.
When we recorded this, we asked Dylan to just play something "crazy" on the drums and worked backwards from there. He powered through this insane performance, and the song came together autonomously from there.
Spencer Ford directed the "#1 Best Of All Time" video, which has a slightly loopy Road Runner/Coyote energy. Below, check out the clip, the Hex Key tracklist, and the dates for Mamalarky's upcoming tour with Hinds.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Broken Bones"
02 "Won’t Give Up"
03 "The Quiet"
04 "Hex Key"
05 "Anhedonia"
06 "#1 Best Of All Time"
07 "Take Me"
08 "MF"
09 "Blow Up"
10 "Blush"
11 "Nothing Lasts Forever"
12 "Feels So Wrong"
13 "Here’s Everything"
TOUR DATES:
3/21 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex *
3/22 - San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew *
3/23 - Oakland, CA @ The New Paris *
3/27 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern *
3/28 - Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall *
3/29 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater *
3/30 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Fest *
4/01 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf *
4/03 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head *
4/04 - Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves *
4/05 - Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas *
4/08 - Mesa. AZ @ The Underground *
4/09 - San Diego, CA @ Music Box *
* with Hinds
Hex Key is out 4/11 on Epitaph.
