Mammoth Penguins

Emma Kupa supplies plainspoken vocals and pointed lyrics for Mammoth Penguins, a Cambridge-based trio whose indie rock pulses with lively bounce yet still ventures into unexpected territory. The group crafts robust, direct melodies that offset the terse quality of her delivery, layering in accessible pop touches alongside taut rock drive. Following the unpolished, minimalist punch of their 2015 album Hide and Seek, the band pursued a bolder direction on the synth-heavy and sample-rich 2017 concept release John Doe. With 2019’s There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win and 2024’s Here, Mammoth Penguins returned to a stripped-down, elemental style while displaying greater power, assurance, and momentum.

Kupa handled bass and vocals in Standard Fare, a band that disbanded in 2013 after eight years of steady touring and two albums. She then relocated from Sheffield to Cambridge, where she briefly explored solo work by cutting the EP Home Cinema and a single alongside Darren Hayman. By the time Home Cinema appeared in early 2015, Kupa had already assembled a fresh group. Switching to guitar, she enlisted bassist Mark Boxall and drummer Tom Barden to launch Mammoth Penguins, a more direct and aggressive indie-rock project than her prior outfit. Their first single, “When I Was Your Age,” surfaced in June 2015, with the album Hide and Seek following a month later on Fortuna POP!.

In 2017 the band issued the single “A Simple Misunderstanding” via Kingfisher Bluez before stretching their punk-pop framework further. Recording as Mammoth Penguins & Friends, they produced a concept album centered on a man who staged his own death and resurfaced a decade later. John Doe incorporated programming and samples from Haiku Salut’s Sophie Barkerwood, violin from Russell Lomas, and additional samples and synths from Alto 45’s Joe Bear; the wiaiwya label released it in late 2017. That project prompted the trio to broaden their palette on the next record. They brought Bear back for multiple keyboard parts and added guitarist Faith Taylor, a collaborator from Kupa’s other band Suggested Friends. The resulting hybrid effort, There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win, appeared on Fika Recordings in early 2019.

COVID-19 disruptions halted touring and recording, placing Mammoth Penguins on hiatus, yet after resuming live dates Kupa resumed songwriting and the group began work on a fourth album. Produced by Tom Barden, 2024’s Here revived the crisp, guitar-led attack of Hide and Seek while incorporating the melodic refinement heard on There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win.