Emma Kupa’s singing is for me a visceral source of inspiration and motivation, and I can never quite put my finger on why. That’s even more true with this new band Mammoth Penguins than it was with her previous band Standard Fare, who put out two great albums a few years back. I think it’s because Mammoth Penguins feels more direct, highlighting her singing in an even more raw way. The songs are similarly melancholy yet raucous, articulate about personal failings and emotional dilemmas within a structure of driving pop. The guitars and drums crash their way into an endless party, while Kupa voices inner turmoil. “Hide and Seek” drives through a collection of wishes, confessions and regrets, before culminating in an explosive rumination on aging and generational expectations.
“When I Was Your Age” is the first single to be taken from “Hide and Seek”, the debut album from Mammoth Penguins, the new band fronted by Emma Kupa (formerly of Standard Fare). The song is gloriously messy and loud, about feeling inadequate about one’s achievements. As Emma explains, “It started off with a birthday card from my granddad saying that he was married with kids at 28 and then I started thinking about what my parents, grandparents and family members had achieved by the time they were my age”. the album is an exhilarating collection of indie anthems, with Emma’s candid songwriting and heartfelt vocals at the fore. Chugging away like the greatest Weezer record you’ve never heard, the songs are bold, loud and outrageously catchy, with lyrics that hit just the right chord, exploring the burgeoning responsibilities of being in your late 20s/early 30s.
The Fat Angel Sings 