Mink Mussel Creek

Mink Mussel Creek – ‘Cat Love Power’ (mp3)

Picture yourself at a party in the woods. You’re doing a wingardium leviosa with individuals clad in enough feathers to wipe out the vulture population. Your mate is sculling goon with Jethro Tull and there’s a naked guy with ADHD running around making horse noises and playing the pan flute. Welcome to Mink Mussel Creek.

Drown yourselves in the sounds of the WA five piece and it will be difficult to draw the line between rowdy forest orgy and psychedelic folk rock.

You might recognize a few faces at the Mink Mussel Creek shindig. Drummer Kevin Parker shares his vocal chords with the compatriots at Tame Impala, and Mink Mussel Creek’s lead singer Nick is  Tame’s honourary fourth member on lead guitar.

Mink Mussel Creek’s Cat Love Power is an impressive six minute, seven second, dynamic mélange. Credence Clearwater reminiscent chords swing about in the opening, suspended in momentary breaths of chord changes. Nick quavers like an Osborne against sturdy riffs, before clamouring out to the cacophonic release of the chorus.

Like most bridges in the genre, Cat Love Power features the usual token drastic tempo change, a bit of Morrison key tinkling here and there and a slightly disturbing voodoo chant. Placed here, perhaps it’s a tad too much of a filler.

However before the intensity causes a brain implosion, the song suddenly detonates a crazy Bohemian Rhapsody harmony. Dissonance and raw tension builds up into a game of intoxicating catch and release, and I’m hooked once more. The kaleidoscopic festivities of Cat Love Power draw to a close, and I think I need a good corner to pass out in.

With a lack of psychadelic folk bands in the spotlight, it’s about time Mink Mussel Creek jumped on the wagon.

 www.myspace.com/minkmusselcreek