Remember Remember - Self Titled [Album]

Rock Action

February 13, 2009, 02:52 PM

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From the very first glance of Remember Remember’s debut liner notes, it’s instantly clear that the album is going to be a unique listening experience. For example, founder member Graeme Ronald’s instrumentation credits read like Andy Kaufman’s shopping list, “Gatorra, E-Bow, Guzheng Harp, Kalimba, Field Recording, Bubblewrap, Hole Punch, Scissors, Sellotape Dispenser, Aerosol Can, Coins, Matches, Lighters, Water, Irn Bru,” the list continues.

And from the moment you hear the opening gambit ‘And The Demon Said…’, you would need a heart of stone not to be completely enchanted. Warm, melancholy, saturated, Satie-esque piano cadences trickle from the surface of the CD and into your consciousness where they set up two tent beds, crack open a crate of Carling and settle down for a long stay.

The Glaswegian group are signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action label and have shared stages with the likes of Harmonia, Stars of the Lid and Fuck Buttons. The boys and girls of Remember Remember are renowned for their unique live show, carrying flight cases full of Irn Bru, plastic toy sharks and wind-up monkeys through venue doors, only to lull and excite captive audiences with their fascinating blend of detailed sampling, awe-inspiring melodies and epic arrangements.

On the aptly-named standout track 'Mountain', the gently-played and heavily delayed guitar lays the hypnotic foundations for a slowly towering crescendo and powerful climax. James Swindburne’s woodwind and percussion add a real sense of contentment, bringing a strength of character that is reminiscent of These Were The Earlies, but without the philosophical Texan drawl.

The final four tracks of the album comprise to make a 30-minute continuous suite which develops and blooms into a multitude of moods and calls on influences such as Eno, Sylviain Chauveau and Philip Glass, resulting in a staggeringly sensitive, diverse and rewarding listen. Although the near-total lack of vocals and the expansive arrangements could lead Remember Remember to be classified as ‘post-rock’, there is an activeness, a sense of delightful urgency in the songwriting that is all too hard to come by in the music of their post-rock contemporaries.

If you are a fan of The Earlies, Mice Parade or Animal Collective, then you will love Remember Remember’s self titled debut. It’s experimental without being self-important, simultaneously playful and sophisticated, and warm enough to keep a mountaineer safe from frost-bite. A highly recommended listen, and an essential live show to see for 2009.

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