As a war wages in Ukraine, aspects of the military industrial complex are front and center in the news; with each international donation to the effort, headlines interject model names right into casual lexicon, so presumably the layperson now knows the difference between a Leopard 2 and an F-16. And while the four members of Mamahawk haven’t necessarily shown off that knowledge of hardware specifics, when it comes to combatting crappy music, they’re a major aggressor.

After a modest immobilization with their 2015 self-titled debut, Mamahawk really brought the offensive to a brink on “Brain Invaderz!” an operation that earned them the rank of KUTX’s August 2018 Artist of the Month. Their sophomore six-track of the same name came in hot the following February, and this past April Mamahawk showed that they’re still on the wing with “Walk in the Fire”.

Well the spacey rock squadron might as well’ve teamed up with Skunk Works, because their latest doesn’t just buzz the tower; it throttles up to the stratosphere for aural superiority. On “Fighter Jet”, Mamahawk cuts the afterburners and coasts at a slower tempo than we’ve heard from them recently. That said, “Fighter Jet” delivers an massive payload in just four minutes, thanks to a Tomahawk missile’s-worth of jazz-prog key chords, laser-accurate delayed-out electric guitar slides, long bass tones that capture that high-altitude hum, plus a canopy of crisp drums and clean vocals.

Catch the full sortie midnight tomorrow night at Sagebrush along with openers Aubrey Hays at 11PM and Sammy G at 10. Til then, quit the habitual bitchin’, strap in, and set course for a relaxing Labor Day weekend.