And Yet, They’ve Made Us See The Light
The transformation a caterpillar goes through before becoming a butterfly is magnificent. Having already flourished from an egg into a wiggly little worm dude is already of spectacular nature, yet the next movements in its lifecycle that are the most drastically encapsulating. A process usually so biological, this transformative revolution can also explain Mamiffer’s metamorphosis over the years. It may not be as drastic as, say, crossing over from Grime-like sludge to a Miley Cyrusian sex pop, but for those that have paid particular attention to the Seattle duo’s formerly three-deep discography can pinpoint the ambient nuances and changes. Their newest, The World Unseen, finds Mamiffer reaching their final stage of transformation.
Think of 2008’s Hirror Enniffer as Mamiffer’s “egg” period, where the seeds for their darkly post-rock were first planted. Faith Coloccia and Aaron Turner’s beautiful union flourished along with Mamiffer’s (and now House of Low Culture), with the epic Mare Decendrii as the caterpillar phase. At this point it’s become apparent what Mamiffer can do, but it’s with Statu Nascendi that they’ve reached their chrysalis stage, and the full change into The World Unseen has now been reached.
Slowly building up from cool creep to straight screeching noise, “By the Light of My Body” carries into what is somewhat of a more melodic reprise of a former. “Flower of the Field ll” dials down a bit of the guitar more present on its predecessor (closing track to Statu Nascendi) and by the time “Domestication of the Ewe” (Parts l, ll and lll) flows through, the angelic noise is in full effect. “Domestication of the Ewe” is within itself an opus. Coloccia’s breathy vocals bring a lightness to the heaviness they manage to manifest without using the typical elements to do so. “Parthenogenesis” ends the album on a whispered, piano dominated note, sounding more like Grouper track than anything else.
Both delicate and fierce at the same time, The World Unseen is like Mamiffer’s transition from their 20’s until their 30’s, reaching their prime. Seeing the road they’ve traveled musically so far, whatever they release after this can only be an escalation of a continual perfection.
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