Mamalarky

Quirky indie rock laced with fuzzy guitars and playful charm

“The Atlanta indie rockers channel a tactful self-assurance while following their trippy, idiosyncratic impulses.”
Pitchfork

For their third record, Hex Key, Mamalarky spent months in their LA home studio—recording in between ice cream trucks and stray cats. The album captures a spirit of persistence, weaving vivid desires and raw vulnerability into effervescent, intense compositions. It’s about chasing perfection while confronting emotional complexity.

Over 8 years, the band has lived in Austin, Atlanta, and LA, forming a rare bond. “There’s no air of professionalism,” says drummer Dylan Hill. “It’s just four friends hanging out and digging into something.” That closeness allows them to fight for the music—not against each other, but for excellence.

While 2022’s Pocket Fantasy was freer, Hex Key is obsessively honed. Working without producers or outside influences, the band focused entirely inward. “We’re always staring each other in the eyes saying, ‘Let’s make this next take incredible,’” says singer/guitarist Livvy Bennett. The band’s dedication is literal—Hill recorded drums for “#1 Best of All Time” while battling poison ivy.

The result is an intricate, ever-surprising album that blends genres and moods: “The Quiet” features ethereal vocals and stylophone warbles; “Anhedonia” reimagines ’90s grunge with dream-pop textures; “Nothing Lasts Forever” flows with a slinky yet propulsive groove. Each track is its own sonic universe. “The worst thing you can say about a Mamalarky song is that it sounds like another one of ours,” says bassist Noor Khan.

That spirit of experimentation extends to the album’s emotional core. “Feels So Wrong,” the first track written for Hex Key, wrestles with self-doubt while offering reassurance. At the time, Bennett had just moved to LA, quit her job, and was delivering pizzas via Uber Eats. Producing other artists from home with keyboardist Michael Hunter inspired more genre-blending and a surge of creative output. “I was writing my favorite music ever, but still felt uncertain,” she says.

The album doesn’t try to resolve discomfort—it embraces it. Themes of self-doubt, alienation, and yearning run throughout. “A lot of this record is about reconciling with rage and making something useful from it,” says Bennett.

Their writing process even involved hiking near Bennett’s home—discussing arrangements mid-ascent, then finding peace at a mountain pond. That journey mirrors the album’s essence: Hex Key chronicles emotional and creative struggles, blazing with intensity, regardless of whether it ever reaches the summit.