Mama Honey (a.k.a. Mama Honey. or mamahoney.) is just what the pop world needs: a Memphis power trio fronted by a funk/psych/blues groove goddess whose voice ranges from a lilt to a rock banshee wail, slinging a guitar, flanked by bass and drums, putting the world on notice. Watching them live or listening to their latest album, Out of Darkness, one can’t help thinking, “this could get very big,” so spot on are the elements the group brings together. If one of those elements is their rawness, all the better.
That may keep them from the commercializing clutches of corporate rock, and that’s for the better as well, though I wish them all the success they can muster. Regardless of all that, band leader Tamar Love already lives in her songs like a star, her voice having so evolved in strength, nuance, and confidence since the group’s 2019 debut EP, Punk Blues, as to render all other trappings of success meaningless. Hearing the sheer variety of ways she approaches her songs, from deadpan bluntness to wailing lament to soaring cries — all with a sure melodic footing — is one of the delights of this record.
Love’s playing, too, has evolved, growing hand in hand with her songwriting, as each vocal moment is clearly crafted with the riffs, fills, and solos she spins so deftly on the frets. Her breakdowns, intricate figures, and choogling grooves are well-complemented by drummer David McNinch and rock-solid bassist Fields Falcone. Both know when to leave space for Love’s intricacies and when to bear down.
The end result is an eclectic Funkadelic-meets-the-Minutemen mash up. Both classic bands were plenty eclectic in their own right; if Mama Honey is their love child, expect even more twists and turns. And while the style changes flow naturally enough, their real power is when there are dramatic shifts in a song’s mood. Given that Love is also a fine cellist, one can only imagine the fresh combinations of sounds and styles they’ll pursue in the future.
Though many of the tracks kick off with a classic blues/rock boogie riff, be sure to buckle up for sprinklings of psychedelic or prog rock, as meters and keys skip subtly here and there along the way. The end result gives one the sense that Mama Honey are rediscovering and reinventing blues rock, unmindful of the various approaches to it in the past, now seemingly dug up whole-clay from the Mississippi’s banks and sculpted into a uniquely personal creation.
As for the punk element, it’s yet another thread worked into the weave of styles, a residual anger lurking in the attitude of “Victims of America,” “You Don’t Own Me” (not, incidentally, a cover of Leslie Gore’s chestnut), and others. To be clear, though the group’s debut EP was titled Punk Blues, it did not feature a song by that name. As if picking up where they left off, the lead track of Out of Darkness now bears that title. And yet the song is more subtle than the blunt title might suggest, seemingly a wail of frustration at what society deems worthy or not worthy of discussion. Such a wail is a closer cousin to Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” than, say, “Clash City Rockers.” Then again, who says there wasn’t something punk about “Higher Ground”?
Mama Honey will present and discuss their new album, Out of Darkness, this Saturday, July 23, at the Memphis Listening Lab, at 6:30 p.m.