Jazziges Sound-Experiment, Klang-Kakophonie oder einfach nur fast vier Minuten vergeudete Lebenszeit? Glücklicherweise ist nicht alles auf „Memorial Waterslides“ so wie der Titelsong geraten. Und mit „Lamplighter“ gelingt Verity Susman und Matthew Simms, die gemeinsam als Memorials musizieren, durchaus ein erinnerungswürdiger kleiner Hit.
Ähnlichkeiten zu Stereolab oder Broadcast sind bei diesem schrägen und wilden Wechsel zwischen Krautrock, Avantgarde-Folk, experimenteller Electronica und Psychedelic-Pop sicherlich beabsichtigt.
„Memorial Waterslides“ ist das Debütalbum des Duos aus Canterbury und als CD und LP (pink Vinyl) erhältlich.
Memorials in Deutschland:
19.01.25 Berlin, Kantine am Berghain
20.01.25 Hamburg, Nachtasyl
21.01.25 Köln, Bumann & Sohn
Tracks like "Name Me" and "I Have Been Alive" are majestic and mighty, positioning Susman's tender vocals against waves of thundering drums, honking saxes, and horror movie organs; the title track is a doomy mix of avant-garde soundtrack noises and overdriven noise rock that is downright scary; and "Book Stall" creeps along slickly like Broadcast, only with an oozing dread and a sinking feeling that the tape the song was recorded on is slowly disintegrating. Even the tracks that have a little more positive energy driving them forward -- like the album-opening "Acceptable Experience," which has a nice Stereolab feel -- have darkness lurking just behind the curtains. On that song, it's made manifest by the ripping guitar solos; on others, it's the looped found sounds ("Lamplighter"), out-of-nowhere steampunk breakbeats ("Cut It Like a Diamond"), or glitchy shards of sax and vocals ("False Landing"). It's clear that the pair have immense skills as crafters of ambience and setters of mood; they are also wizard-level good at weaving kaleidoscopic strands of influences together into a brilliant, fascinating fabric. The result is the kind of record that's almost impossible to stop listening to once one begins. It flows together so perfectly, and the mood is so tense and unbroken, that it feels wrong to be diverted in any way.
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