The Mammals
Touch Grass Vol. 1 & 2
(Humble Abode Music)
What’s the difference between a pop song and a folk song? Who cares? The Mammals certainly don’t seem to worry about the difference. They just get on with the business of making beautiful music on a new pair of discs, Touch Grass Vol. 1 and 2. Leaders Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar both possess remarkable vocal instruments, rich in nuance, clarity, and emotion. When they harmonize, all bets are off, in the best sense of that cliche. The Pete Seeger-like mantra of Vol.2’s “Heal Our Heart,” with other band members joining in on the chorus, is the kind of uplifting song that seems to stem uniquely from the Hudson Valley—a genteel hippie anthem to be sure, but steeped in rugged Catskills strength. A pinecone and a smooth stone from the Esopus, rather than flowers and beads.
Vol.1’s lead track, “Unpopular Ideas,” similarly puts the power in the people’s hands, but it does so without veering into new age wash. “One Good Friend” offers a sultry soul strut, all the way from Phoenicia, rather than Memphis. Ungar’s singing on the brief-but-essential “Do Good” at once channels Patti Smith, Syd Straw, and Ronnie Gilbert. Talk about not caring about the line between pop and folk. And, on “When You Love Let Go,” she’s just Ungar, through and through. Could this be a single disc? Probably…certainly. But, especially given the tenor of these streaming times, splitting it into two feels like an artistic choice, not a commercial one. Recommended—both volumes.
This article appears in December 2025.
