The neon hum of Sunset Boulevard feels heavier when you are chasing a ghost but Mama No Likey finds a way to bottle that desperation and turn it into a victory lap on their latest offering Brightstar. It is the sound of someone who has spent too many nights watching the fog roll over the Hollywood Hills and deciding that the climb was worth the bruised shins. There is a grit here that feels earned because it refuses to apologize for wanting something bigger than a day job.
A jagged guitar riff cuts through the air and it feels like a transmission from the heyday of The Killers but with a sun-bleached Los Angeles edge that keeps it from feeling like mere nostalgia. The rhythm section pulses with a frantic sort of hope and the vocals have this wonderful sandpaper quality that suggests they have been singing in dive bars until the sun came up. It is thick and heavy and bright all at once so you can feel the heat of the pavement under your feet as the melody climbs toward the heavens.
