ANTI- Records release of Mamba, the sophomore album from South Africa-bred artist Prism Tats. The album offers a moody but melody-driven strain of psych-inflected post-punk. Recorded with producer Chris Woodhouse (Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall), Mamba explores themes of self-inflicted isolation, working-class hopelessness, and the emotional damage of technology addiction...

Personally, I didn't feel that Mamba was quite as enjoyable as Prism Tats's (AKA Garrett van der Spek) stompingly enjoyable 2016 self-titled album Prism Tats. In fact, of this album's 10 songs (35 min, 36 sec) only 'Daggers', 'Liar' and 'Live Like Dogs' came close to recapturing the magic.

While it's meant to be a totally different beast, it wasn't a release I warmed to very quickly. And, as I've been listening to this for over a month now, I think I'm as familiar with it as I'm ever likely to be. It's still a fun romp, just not up to the high standards that he'd previously set.

6

Nick Smithson