An entertaining and layered third album from the indie-rock quartet out on the 11th of April.

Originally from Austin Texas but now living in Atlanta after a stint in Los Angeles, Mamalarky are a band intent on pushing themselves to be the best they can. “The worst thing you can say about a Mamalarky song is ‘This sounds like another song of yours,’” says bassist Noor Khan. This drive to create a whole world in every track, for the songs to stand unique and on their own is the absolutely winning heart of the album.

The album opens in style, ‘Broken Bones’ breezes in with bold defined lines and is an absolute toe-tapper. It instantly puts you at ease, you know you will have a good time listening to Hex Key. Single ‘Won’t Give Up’ follows and the range of their musical ability becomes apparent. This is closer to an indie-disco stomp, you suspect they could go full disco with ease if they chose to.

‘The Quiet’ is anything but. All sorts of scrapers and wobbly whistles provide a background to the strong synth lines and vocals that build and release in the foreground. This attention to detail is all consuming, the band recorded the whole album in their living room studio, having to pause and go again whenever a truck went past. There was no producer, just the four of them pushing each other on to better and greater things. “It’s never ‘kick your feet up, let’s see what happens,” guitarist and singer Livvy Bennett says. “We’re always staring each other deeply in the eyes saying, ‘Let’s make this next take incredible.’ We never settle.”

There is a woozy swirling sound to title track ‘Hex Key’ before ‘Anhedonia’ impresses greatly. It sounds like a classic 70’s Bowie track married to the more lo-fi instincts of Pavement. It is one of those soundtracking your summer type songs, blaring out the window of your car or at a barbecue – despite the more serious nature of the lyrics. “‘Anhedonia’ is a song about feeling god awful. I was going through a really deep depression and not knowing what to do other than isolate myself from everyone,” Livvy Bennet explains. “I didn’t want to put this song out because of how much I associate it with pain and getting completely stuck in it. I’m glad it’s on the record now, though. The most defining times come after being at the bottom of the pit, every day passing the same. At some point you look up and anhedonia has gone and you’re more hopeful than before.”

‘#1 Best of All Time’ recalls The Flaming Lips at their most playful. This is truly a band with no limits on their expression. ‘Take Me’ is closer to mainstream R and B, you could imagine half a dozen world class artists putting out a slightly tweaked version of the track and getting huge amounts of praise for it. Yet following that is the heavier, time signature trickery of ‘MF.’

‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ and ‘Feels So Wrong’ make up the previously released singles. The former again leaning towards the dancefloor whilst the later showcases Livvy Bennett’s strong vocals and their ability to construct beauty from a range of musical techniques.

This is a truly outstanding album. It marks out Mamalarky as one of those bands you will want to pay close attention to. What will they do next? What will it sound like? In an age of identikit cut and paste artists that will likely worsen as AI explodes in usage, this is truly a group whose drive for creativity and to better themselves is to be applauded and celebrated. It rewards repeat listening and will be on heavy rotation on the Reading Indie Life speaker over the next few weeks.