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| Track list: 1. Blackwaterside 2. Come Write Me Down 3. Brambles 4. Green Grows The Laurel 5. I Wish I Wish 6. The Light 7. Want You To Know 8. Deltic Soul 9. Why 10. Reasons 11. Evil 12. The Poacher Running time: 47 minutes Released: 2006 |
I am almost but not entirely positive that I bought up albums from The Memory Band after hearing something I liked of theirs on some form of LastFM station. I am damned if I can remember the parameters of that discovery, mind... maybe Tunng? My suspicion is that these albums (I have this plus The Memory Band) are chock full of songs that I will not recognise enough to have associated them to the group without looking, but which I rather enjoy when they come up in random plays.
Now is the time to find out.
We start with Blackwaterside - experiment to cram three words together? - which has a catchy enough hook. The strings overlaying it are a touch sharper than I would like but there is an easy rolling charm to the tune that comes out of the marriage. With no vocals to play against, the meander of those strings provides the main element and whilst a flatter, smoother sound would have been welcome in places it is a promising start. The cut-over into the next song is rather abrupt, and this very definitely has an early Tunng-like feel. The sounds are stronger but the style of the vocal is very reminiscent of Genders-era Tunng. The vocal itself is not as strong, and the bolder volume of the instrumentation offsets this a little. I find the hook slightly sub-par though - a little too much repetition, reflected in the vocal with the chorus featuring over heavily. It is half brilliant effort, half disappointment - so near but so far. I should not be surprised, of course, by the early Tunng similarity, since Sam Genders and Stephen Cracknell - the main brain behind The Memory Band - went on to be The Accidental together.
Brambles has a promising start, layered loops that hint at much to like if the tune will break out from them. Unfortunately, there is not quite enough variation on the theme for me to really fall for this track. Like Come Write Me Down before it, it does not quite live up to its potential. 3 songs in and I am frustrated; almost very good, it just falls short each time. I hope the tunes to come break that pattern in a positive way, because it is literally just round the corner, over the hill, the next step that counts, etc. etc.
I see from their entry on LastFM that Lisa Knapp was a member at some point. Her vocal would add something - love her voice a lot, but she's not on either of the albums I own. However whilst I worry about that, I Wish I Wish has brought everything together brilliantly... at least to the point where the denouement overstays its welcome by about 2 minutes (which includes another chorus before it closes). I am prepared to forgive an unwillingness to end a beautiful song though - it is certainly a lesser crime than just failing to entice and excite. I am happy, too, when the next song starts with a stronger, jauntier guitar part. Positivity is maintained, energy transferred, head nodding engaged. The Light really is that - a ray of light in a dark evening, a breath of fresh air and just on the right side of the balance that was underweighted earlier.
The first refrains of Want You to Know are very promising, reminding me of Eagleowl (and specifically mf). It evolves away from that a bit, but remains in the same vein generally. This I approve of - Eagleowl are one of the best bands you have never heard of, one of the finds I am happiest with over the last few years. But enough of someone I am not listening to... after a short interlude, we get a nice fiddle/guitar tune which comes with a song. This is nicely put together; the album is winning me round after the early near misses. The tunes are hanging together better, the songs sung nicely.
Evil breaks that pattern. It is duller, less tuneful and less interesting. The vocal suits the style of the song, but is not to my taste. Overall the album is a bit of a mixed bag, and nothing shows this off more than the final track which is like none of those before. Slightly dodgy harmonies, more purposeful strumming and wandering melody. It is a little bit of a mess, but a mess that has a certain charm to it. My overall impressions have been mostly positive - enough so that I am searching out the two albums I am missing. It is a strange little collection though and I reckon more time (which it probably will not get, to be honest), would benefit the impression.
Now is the time to find out.
We start with Blackwaterside - experiment to cram three words together? - which has a catchy enough hook. The strings overlaying it are a touch sharper than I would like but there is an easy rolling charm to the tune that comes out of the marriage. With no vocals to play against, the meander of those strings provides the main element and whilst a flatter, smoother sound would have been welcome in places it is a promising start. The cut-over into the next song is rather abrupt, and this very definitely has an early Tunng-like feel. The sounds are stronger but the style of the vocal is very reminiscent of Genders-era Tunng. The vocal itself is not as strong, and the bolder volume of the instrumentation offsets this a little. I find the hook slightly sub-par though - a little too much repetition, reflected in the vocal with the chorus featuring over heavily. It is half brilliant effort, half disappointment - so near but so far. I should not be surprised, of course, by the early Tunng similarity, since Sam Genders and Stephen Cracknell - the main brain behind The Memory Band - went on to be The Accidental together.
Brambles has a promising start, layered loops that hint at much to like if the tune will break out from them. Unfortunately, there is not quite enough variation on the theme for me to really fall for this track. Like Come Write Me Down before it, it does not quite live up to its potential. 3 songs in and I am frustrated; almost very good, it just falls short each time. I hope the tunes to come break that pattern in a positive way, because it is literally just round the corner, over the hill, the next step that counts, etc. etc.
I see from their entry on LastFM that Lisa Knapp was a member at some point. Her vocal would add something - love her voice a lot, but she's not on either of the albums I own. However whilst I worry about that, I Wish I Wish has brought everything together brilliantly... at least to the point where the denouement overstays its welcome by about 2 minutes (which includes another chorus before it closes). I am prepared to forgive an unwillingness to end a beautiful song though - it is certainly a lesser crime than just failing to entice and excite. I am happy, too, when the next song starts with a stronger, jauntier guitar part. Positivity is maintained, energy transferred, head nodding engaged. The Light really is that - a ray of light in a dark evening, a breath of fresh air and just on the right side of the balance that was underweighted earlier.
The first refrains of Want You to Know are very promising, reminding me of Eagleowl (and specifically mf). It evolves away from that a bit, but remains in the same vein generally. This I approve of - Eagleowl are one of the best bands you have never heard of, one of the finds I am happiest with over the last few years. But enough of someone I am not listening to... after a short interlude, we get a nice fiddle/guitar tune which comes with a song. This is nicely put together; the album is winning me round after the early near misses. The tunes are hanging together better, the songs sung nicely.
Evil breaks that pattern. It is duller, less tuneful and less interesting. The vocal suits the style of the song, but is not to my taste. Overall the album is a bit of a mixed bag, and nothing shows this off more than the final track which is like none of those before. Slightly dodgy harmonies, more purposeful strumming and wandering melody. It is a little bit of a mess, but a mess that has a certain charm to it. My overall impressions have been mostly positive - enough so that I am searching out the two albums I am missing. It is a strange little collection though and I reckon more time (which it probably will not get, to be honest), would benefit the impression.
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