Transitioning from a group environment to a solo artist comes with unique challenges. The musical dynamics invariably change. Lyrics suddenly accrue greater significance. Performances demand a heightened sense of vulnerability. Coming out of COVID, Kyle Gordon, the public face and bandleader behind MammaBear, was left without a live lineup. Hence, for all of 2022, every show became a one-man affair. This included a two-week acoustic tour of the UK Gordon undertook with his friend and frequent collaborator Ben Davidow (The Buzzards of Fuzz, Gas Hound, Phantom Electric).
For Gordon, the purpose behind the solo shows was one of evolution—to prove to himself that he could grow as an artist and a person in ways he hadn’t considered before the pandemic. To help document his experience, he booked time at Abbey Road Studios in London where he hoped to track his acoustic set in a single take. After losing his voice at an afterparty, however, Gordon was forced to pivot in a new direction. Instead, he decided to take a stab at recording “Fever Dream,” an uncompleted song that was being held for a future MammaBear release.
“I worked out the middle section and stumbled onto the final arrangement in a hallway in Abbey Road while Ben was recording his stuff in the next room,” Gordon reveals. “I finished the song about 20 minutes before it was my time to have the studio to myself. I started with the bass as the song is super straightforward and was a good guide track for the rest of the instruments. I recorded two guitar takes on a Fender Twin and another texture rhythm on a Marshall half stack. I tracked the drums on a five-piece Ludwig drum set and did a very rough vocal guide take last. The song was completed in Atlanta under Kris Sampson of Sampson Sound and we had the final mix finished there.”
Building on the moody intensity that defined large portions of MammaBear’s last LP, Free Radical, “Fever Dream” takes its time unfurling. But don’t worry. By the time the song fades, all the essential MammaBear elements are present and accounted for. There’s a healthy dose of earnest yearning in the vocals, hip-shaking rhythms and propulsive groove galore, and, of course, a stomping corker of a chorus. If anything is missing, then, it’s the personal intimacy that often accompanies an acoustic set. Rather than a document of Gordon’s experience as a solo troubadour, we’re left with another rousing full-band anthem. Time is indeed a flat circle.
Shot by Nick Rhodes of Coalesce Films, the video attempts to match the song’s scrappy energy with jubilant performances and DIY flair. Action-wise its little more than Gordon, his wife Kit, bassist Davidow, and drummer Nick Whitson dancing, playing, and thrashing around a foggy room. But somehow it clicks. Less is more has always been a kind of MammaBear mantra and here it plays out with spirited results.
“The music video was inspired by gritty early glam rock videos I’ve always enjoyed,” Gordon says. “We took everything out of my living room and set up three large glitter backdrops, used a fog machine to smoke the room out, and set all our gear up in the corner. The video is also straightforward, paying homage to the simplicity of the song itself. We shot two or three takes from three different angles and generally raised hell throughout the entire process.”
Watch/listen above.
MammaBear returns to the UK for another tour this October. This time around, Gordon will be joined by a full band and will have a limited 7″ vinyl run of The Abbey Road Sessions EP available for purchase.
MammaBear will perform tomorrow night, Sept. 9, at Fuzzstock Fourever at Boggs Social & Supply. Also performing are Destroyer of Light (TX), the Buzzards of Fuzz, the Pinx, Rae and the Ragdolls, the Mystery Men?, Black Cat Rising, Turbo Gatto (SC), Gas Hound, and DJ Vikki Vaden. Doors open at 4 p.m. Admission is $15 in advance or $20 DOS. 21+ to enter.
More Info
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