Treasure Mammal

Popularity, in a Yogi Berra-esque paradox, alienates some music fans. They either don’t want to be sheep or they simply want to avoid being trampled by the existing sheep in an eerie frenzy inspired by, let’s say, the bouncy sweatball of performing energy that is Treasure Mammal’s Abelardo Gil III. So if you’ve been orbiting that scene like a frustrated sperm in a human-development video, grab TM’s new disc, You Wish I Was Channeling Your Spirit. Clamp it onto the player and breathe normally. You’ll discover punchy writing with either 14 or zero levels of irony, delivered in an undeniably smooth voice. Score your copy at the CD-release party, which, speaking of popularity, marks the final appearance of wonder trio Asleep in the Sea, whose Tom Filardo reassures us that it’s an amiable and organic breakup: “Musically, and the dynamics of the band, and everything that contributes to a band’s life was conflicting with other things. Not that we didn’t like the songs or the shows or the friends; we didn’t have time to do things that were re-energizing, so much.” Says Gil, “People will be bummed out after they play, so it’ll be a good setup for me to cheer them up.”