Memory Tapes – Player Piano

Wait In The Dark

Offers

Worries

Dayve Hawk's long-awaited second album as Memory Tapes was always going to have to be a little different as the musical climate has changed since his fantastic debut, Seek Magic (reviewed here). Although his appropriation of touches of French house into his nostalgic, sunny sound shone when compared to other similar artists, chillwave is now a much more crowded genre and so in this album he was really going to have to push it to stand out from the crowd. Thankfully, he has largely succeeded in this, crafting a far more complex set of compositions that both incorporate more of Hawk's voice and a much warmer feel of live instrumentation beyond those great riffs.

Although some other reviewers have stated that his vocals don't work as high in the mix as they are here, I have to disagree. His voice is perfectly suited to the faded pop-disco he creates, and in this album he truly presents himself as a master of the pop hook. This is clearly evident across the LP; mid-album highlight Worries commences with a loping synth melody and semi-tribal beats, but the moment where these songs hit home is those fantastically catchy choral lines he writes, in this song the instruments erupt bouncily and he cries “Heaven is waiting / heaven is stood outside your door” and after you've heard it a few times you'll have to sing along.

Anthemic opener Wait In The Dark is another perfectly pitched dance pop track, with the introduction of a more untreated synth sound the pace and happiness of the song is instantly recognisable as a Memory Tapes production while sounding different enough to not feel like a rehash of the material from Seek Magic. His closing cries “If this is it / don't make me wait” are emotionally universal and worm their way into your brain, followed by the harsh, soaring synth line. The music can sound happy at first but the lyrical content (although I wouldn't call Hawk a lyrical genius his lines are simply and effective) presents tale after tale of romantic longing and fatigue, allowing the melancholy behind the guitar riffs to be heard throughout, such as in those reverbing beats on Today Is Our Life and the lushly emotive melody of Fell Thru Ice.

The latter is an especially notable cut as it is the first time his music has moved beyond the emotive effect of energetic longing to a genuinely mournful track, and his voice admirably carries the intense longing of the feelings expressed, reinforced by details such as the great bass kick. The album is full of great details like this showing Hawk is not only invested in the surface effect of his music, from the fantastic vocal looping at the end of Today Is Our Life to the near-pastiche surf riff following the chorus of Sun Hits that evokes wonderfully the titular sun. Another aspect of the album that really lets you admire the detail of the production is Hawk's outros which consistently sound like tracks in themselves, such as the submerged melody at the end of Fell Thru Ice II or the bouncing synths that mix with the theramin-esque synths at the end of another sure album standout, the laid back Offers.

There is a lot that is positive about this album, but I wouldn't say it quite matches the quality of Seek Magic. Cuts like Humming, Fell Thru Ice II and the musicbox songs are forgettable with only a few nice details that don't quite add up to worthwhile tracks. I don't quite know what to make of the strangely aggressive closer Trance Sisters, and although the last minute is a wonderful turnaround I'm not so keen on the first few and as a whole it sounds out of place on the LP. The other problem is that because these tracks are more wrought and complex, they lack the instant bouncy joy of those on Seek Magic.

However I wouldn't say that this is a disappointing sophomore album. If Seek Magic was excellent, this is still good. A second album ought to be an expansion of an artist's sound and themes and that is exactly what Hawke gives us, proving himself able to truly understand how to re-incorporate the sounds of his youth into his music all the while being acutely aware of how to construct a great pop track.

7/10

Memory Tapes – Seek Magic

I'm not a fan of the chillwave aesthetic. Re-appropriations of nostalgic sounds and structures often stick so close to the original they sound more like parody than original output. Added to this, the summery sound that every single chillwave album aspires to often comes off as substanceless and light. However these styles can be done well, as was seen recently in How To Dress Well's new album which isn't chillwave but is the same nostalgic re-producing, just done with a purer, more original vision and a deft hand at inserting these sounds only where they belong. I'm pleased to say, Seek Magic is another such success, this time with these sounds of the past being brought into the present in the form of at first unassuming but defiantly brilliant dance pop.

Dayve Hawk, the man behind Memory Tapes, certainly knows what he's doing. His music is all about payoff, waiting for that next riff or that next chorus, because each time we get a hook it's so damn satisfying. Swimming Field kicks off the album rather quietly, with lush outdoor sounds of crickets and reverb-drenched, floating vocals. But about halfway through the track it starts to come together; a sparklingly irresistible slow synth-line breaks through the haze, and about a minute before the end it breaks, drums booming around twisting background synths, it's a transcendent moment on an album that's absolutely full of them. The track perfectly shimmers out of existence and breaks straight into the absolutely fantastic album highlight, Bicycle. On this track he keeps building more and more satisfying riffs and layers onto the track until you almost feel it's gonna break; twice the music drops off before coming crashing back with an insatiable vigour. Just before it all gets too much, the whole track builds into a gorgeously sunny instrumental with a beautiful wordless vocal melody, and then at 3.40 you get literally one of the best guitar riffs I've ever heard on an album this straight.

The majority of the album is pure unadultered summer; but it doesn't sacrifice any weight in the achievement as so many similar artists are prone to doing. Third cut Green Knight is another stunning track, and there's a real emotional heft behind his vocals, placed somewhere out there in the lush soundscape calling “I wanna give you my love / I wanna call your name / At the sound of my voice / You turn away / I remember when you were young and afraid”. It's simple stuff but it's surprisingly affecting, and it's pretty indicative of the whole album – Hawk never goes for anything too crazy or unusual, but everything he attempts he gets absolutely spot on. Green Knight, like Bicycle, spins out into a great dance track (more for the bedroom than the club, admittedly), and later track Plain Material is an absolute blast of a pop track. It's the straightest cut on the album but from the darkly funny first line “Suicide, I know you mean well” it just builds into one of the catchiest things I've heard in a long while.

Still, this album isn't perfect. Pink Stones puts a bit of a foot wrong as an electro-tinged instrumental, and Graphics is slightly relentless on the synths. Stop Talking, too, is far too long, but the stunning synth line 5 and a half minutes in makes it just about worth it- but I feel these synths would've been just as good without the long build up.

Run Out is the closer, it's a darker track edged with a little more longing than the rest of his stuff, but its pulled off nicely through a series of great breaks, widening the soundfield each time it feels big enough already; a neat trick Hawk seems to have picked up somewhere. The synths layer beautifully and it ushers out the album in style.

This album is for the most part absolutely stunning and feverishly enjoyable. If it weren't for a few missteps which can't quite be granted considering the short length of the album (40 minutes rush by in no time), I would easily give it a 9. It's well worth a listen, and from the sounds of it Hawk has a lot more planned for us quite soon – check out the great new track Wait in the Dark on his myspace – and I for one can't wait.

9/10