A Trip Down Mammary Lane,
MybeI’ve plugged Mybe enough times on this here website in the past for pretty much everyone to have heard of them. The fact is that the Sheffield/Chesterfield/Dronfield/Whatever based threesome play some of the UK’s finest poppy punk rock, can show up the best of them in the live arena and are thoroughly nice guys to boot. What more do you want?
Well, whatever you answered to that question, you’re likely to find it here in ‘A Trip Down Mammary Lane’. Wildhearts-esque chainsaw riffs? Hell yes. Even more wonderfully complimented vocal melodies and even catchier chorus’s? You bet ya. Crisper recording quality and improved musicianship? Of Course. Bonus DVD with all 3 members of Mybe expressing their love for, amongst other things, Jamie Oliver, Fox’s Glacier Mints and long walks in the summer time? Er…. Not quite.
Still, aside from that quite odd request, ‘A Trip Down…’ takes everything that has gone before in the world of Mybe and polishes it, cleans it up, buys it a new suit and gives it a big fuck off tune to play with. Opener ‘The Bastards Have Landed’ is vintage Mybe, albeit injected up to the eyeballs with speed, and sets things off to a grand start. ‘Too Stupid To Care’ is a proper pop rock anthem with vocal hooks the size of Brian Blessed’s beard and crunching guitars backed up by a couple of moments that begged to be pogoed to and a ‘lovely’ little interlude where bass wielder Ross shows off his falsetto vocals. Is that boy a eunuch?
While the whole of this little 8 tracker (proper tracks only…) is generally a joy to behold, it’s the last two songs that really raise the bar. I look forward to the day when Mybe write a faster, punchier song than ‘Hobson’s Choice’ because then I will be able to fall in love with it over again. The double speed drumming and angst ridden lyrics spat out with something bordering on fury help to lead into a fantastic breakdown and then back out the other end, straight into ‘From Monkeys To Morons’ which, if I didn’t know any better, could easily be written by Pump Up the Valuum era NOFX. A post-apocalyptic chorus line sang in an upbeat fashion coupled with even more great drumming, signing off with a bang.
While the beginning and the end of the album is generally superior to the slight dip in the middle, it’s a dip that merely drops from great to good, with ‘Rose West’ raising a smile and adrenaline levels simultaneously, ‘G Marks The Spot’ taking Xpirate-coreXto a whole new level and ‘Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder’ throwing some feel good ska guitar into the mix. It’s all very good, but only some of it is great.
‘A Trip Down Mammary Lane’ takes Mybe to the next level in terms of song-structure, lyrical themes and pure adrenaline soaked punk rock. Few doubted they could do it, but some showed scepticism and they have been well and truly blown out of the water. Mybe should be at the forefront of the UK’s underground scene and while their juvenile antics and love of a good chorus put some people off, they are the ones missing out. Drenched in melody, dripping in enthusiasm, packed full of talent and worthy of your hard earned pennies.
Ross
