Toronto’s Lammping, the brainchild of producer Mikhail Galkin and drummer Jay Anderson, returns with the opening salvo of a four-album odyssey.
And it starts with Never Never, a collaboration with Montreal rockabilly gremlin Bloodshot Bill, a man who sounds like he gargles gravel and dreams in tape hiss.
It’s a chaotic brew of sampled dust, warped loops, and outlaw harmonies. Born from Galkin’s return to his sample-heavy roots (he once moonlighted as DJ Alibi, producing beats for hip-hop royalty like J-Live and Boldy James), Never Never is a fusion of ’90s NYC hip-hop, lo-fi psychedelia, skate-video nostalgia, and mutant Beach Boys harmonies.
Bloodshot Bill, more often heard yelping over punkabilly riffs, becomes an instrument here, a living saxophone made of meat and mood swings. “I always liked his voice… It’s pretty harsh sometimes, but he can drop it super low when needed,” Galkin notes.
That versatility gives Never Never its unhinged charm. BB’s voice flirts with rapping, detours into growls, and hovers between B-movie villain and swamp preacher. Yet somehow, it never collapses into parody.
Anderson, a familiar face in Toronto’s indie underbrush (Biblical, Badge Époque Ensemble), keeps the rhythm section steady while Galkin’s samples swirl and disintegrate around him. The result is a record that doesn’t care about genre rules or sonic purity. It’s duct-taped together with instinct and joy.
This is music born of DIY hallucinations and late-night record binges. Lammping snaps genres in half and tapes them back together sideways. Never Never is the start of something strange, thrilling, and intensely alive.
Pre-order it on Bandcamp here.
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