Yes, they toured with Stereolab. And yes, an echo of their sound world may resonate in Memorials. And no. Memorials are not a Krautrock space band following Stereolab, but rather they have embraced countless relevant genres: folk, postpunk, psychedelia, dub and prog rock are part of the inventory of ALL CLOUDS BRING NOT RAIN.
Verity Susman, formerly of Electrelane, and Matthew Simms, guitarist of post-punk legends Wire, have a lot NEW! heard, but their rhythmically complex constructions are far removed from their laced motor skills beat.
The duo is “drawn to the way records used to be made,” says Susman. What Memorials produced in a barn in the south of France sounds very organic. Many songs suddenly transform, moving from transparency to bombast and back. “Watching The Moon,” an organ-driven piece of psychedelia, sinks into an underwater choir. “Wildly rRmote,” a throwback to Nico’s “Chelsea Girl,” is laced with squeaky tape loops. Not a Krautrock space band, but two thoroughbred musicians who bring something unique to every song.
