Memory Lame
Memory Lame occupies little room on a tracklist but asks for plenty of attention. Giraffes? Giraffes! divide the music into six pieces whose ideas keep shifting. Drums and guitar move from sharp rhythms to sustained sounds. There is plenty of activity without the melodies constantly disappearing behind the technique.
The record has something of a collection of memories running into one another. Musical figures appear, find a different setting and give way to something else. That suits its loose, sometimes dreamy structure. Everything does not need to become clear immediately for the music to feel connected.
Hug of Death gives the busier side a convincing shape. Its guitar parts remain recognisable between the many changes. The Teenagers in the Woods Burning Things Lying Around takes longer to develop. A calmer groove grows towards a large outburst before the sound thins out again. Returning to space matters as much as the heavier passage.
Putzing Around the Underworld Aka the Loser's Journey brings quick riffs and calmer atmospheric sections close together. There is enough continuity to make it more than a sequence of separate ideas.
There are limits to the approach. Long, multipart structures have become familiar territory for this band and add little new to the wider genre. Not every turn feels like a fresh discovery. Still, Memory Lame retains its pleasure and curiosity. Strong guitar figures, active drums and quieter passages make the record more approachable than its busy structure might suggest. The best moments keep the technical playing connected to a clear musical idea.
