Spins: The Mammals, Departure

These self-styled "subversive acoustic traditionalists" beef up the rock component of their music quite a bit on this disc, with heavier electric guitar and drums alongside the core string band instrumentation. It's a great sound--deeply rooted but roaming free--matched by some fine songwriting. In a similar vein as Nickel Creek but more unruly.

I've been following the Mammals since hearing them in a cramped hotel room in Nashville several years back, during the Folk Alliance conference. I was reporting a story for NPR on the indie music business and loved the explosive energy of this band (then a trio). You can hear them playing during the close of the piece.

Download MP3s from some recent Mammals shows here.