Memorials are the duo Verity Susman and Matthew Simms who come from a distinguished background as former members of Electrelane and WIRE respectively. The twelve songs on their second album are written, performed, recorded and mixed solely by the two of them.
Their music incorporates an impressive range of styles and genres including folk, dub, post punk, experimental tape music, 60s soul, garage rock, 70s spiritual jazz and Canterbury prog. Of their working methods, they say, “we are increasingly drawn to the way records used to be made […] capturing a moment in time and committing to that.”
The tonal shifts keep the listener guessing as to what will come next. This is certainly not a record that gets stuck in the same groove.
Despite the gear changes, it never feels disjointed or unfocused. I would imagine that being recorded mostly in a studio in a secluded barn deep in the woods in southwestern France helped to eliminate distractions that might have thrown things off balance.
Susman’s vocals range from tender to turbulent often evoking the spirit of Broadcast’s Trish Keenan and Stereolab’s Lætitia Sadier. Life Could Be A Cloud and I Can't See A Rainbow are dreamy and wistful ballads which contrast with the joyful psychedelic pulse of Watching The Moon.
Mediocre Demon is soulful and funky with a kickass bass line; Bell Miner offers a slice of post-punk ballad and Wildly Remote is a modernist lullaby. The lyrics to Cut Glass Hammer were inspired by the Yoko Ono retrospective ‘Music of the Mind’ at London’s Tate Modern gallery.
A high point comes with Dropped Down The Well which suggests a bleak subtext through the line “emptiness is all around” but motorik beats propel the poptones to improve the mood.
Overall, this is a very accomplished and absorbing record which is varied enough to invite repeated plays
