MUST HAVE ALBUM: Mahoney – You Are The Big Bang (EP) (2016)

The debut EP from former Amplifier bassist and ‘riffmeister extraordinaire’ Neil Mahony (Mahoney)… And what a debut it is!

Mister Mahony is accompanied by fantastic drummer Gavin Kenny on this EP, but all other instruments and vocals are done by Neil himself. He’s a very talented musician and a good vocalist too. Amplifier has released some good albums after Neil’s depart, but I always found that I missed a certain sound and atmosphere in the music of those albums. The atmosphere that I missed is clearly present in Neil’s music, which is thumping! The riffs, the sound… The complete ‘trip’ is just fantastic. The music itself contains so much energy and emotion, it’s makes me super excited every time I listen to it. It carries a very grungy sound, think of mid/late 90s and early 00s grunge/stoner and nu-prog bands! What also cannot go unmentioned is the presence of the bass and other low, heavy tones.

The first track The Win Win Situation, which is the shortest track, immediately grabs your attention. The heavy riffs are snappy and catchy. Field Effect Transistor has a very constructive structure that slowly builds up to a great outro. The third track Sides has a very bluesy/western-like start but opens up and becomes so powerful after 3 minutes. Wow, what an energy! Neil’s vocals are also strong and vigorous. Trying To Lean starts very calm and serene, but gets a heavier tone when the drums enter the song. The instrumental intermediate pieces gives me goosebumps.

This is going to be in my Top 5 of best albums from 2016 for sure, despite the fact it’s only a 4 track EP that only is 23 minutes long. I even think it will stay on number 1 position unless some artist/band makes a better album than this. I hope Neil continues making wonderful music in the (near) future. I give it 5 out of 5 stars (well, if I could, I would gave it 10 out of 5)! My recommendation: Listen to this album on volume 11 on your sound system!

***** Iris Hidding