By Alex Schaaf

Glo-fi. Chillwave. Bloghouse. These are terms that are used for certain kinds of bands that are usually adored by certain kinds of music blogs. These terms usually turn me off right away, as the selections I had sampled from this area had not quite connected with me yet. But for some reason, I decided to give Memory Tapes a listen, one of the many bands that have emerged from this scene, after a glowing review on Pitchfork. I’m quite glad I did.

One of my favorite things about listening to brand new music is the anticipation for “the moment.” This “moment” I’m referring to is the specific time or event in a new album that really grabs you, makes you stop whatever you were doing at the moment, and just sit back and listen. Oftentimes this doesn’t come, and I may end up never listening to the album again. But when it does come, sometimes it can be extremely specific, and this one moment opens up the rest of the album for me and allows me to enjoy the other songs that I may not have enjoyed as much right off the bat. The climax of Thom Yorke’s vocal line on Radiohead’s “Nude,” when his vibrato kicks in; the harsh cymbal and crushing drum beat towards the end of St. Vincent’s “Marrow,” the 7/4 section of Andrew Bird’s “Anonanimal” – these are all examples from recent releases where I become addicted to that one “moment” and just want to play it over and over again.

I recently had this experience with Memory Tapes in the ending minutes of “Bicycle,” the standout track of Dayve Hawk’s debut album “Seek Magic.” Emerging from a haze of 80s drumbeats and ambient textures, a chorus of ‘oh’s and ‘ahh’s finds its way to the surface to rest atop a blanket of triumphant beats and rhythmic piano. Again, I can’t explain why exactly this hits me the way it does, but I’ve listened to that song over and over, just waiting for the emotional release of that final section.

The album on the whole is very solid, if I had to add one more meaningless qualifier to the mix, I would call this “haze dance” music. The 80s-sounding drum beats are ever-present, as well as the hazy ambience of dark piano and delay-heavy synths. Some tracks go into extended instrumental passages, while others focus more on lyrics like “This is the last time/You can’t deny/One more time, baby one more time.”

These tracks seem very “retro” in one sense, as if they could be heard tuning in to a 80s rock radio station late at night, but in another sense there is a modern sense of rhythm and movement that pervades throughout. I may check out a few more “glo-fi” bands after this experience; whether or not this will be dangerous to my sanity is yet to be seen.

Buy: Memory Tapes – Seek Magic
++
MP3: Memory Tapes – “Bicycle”