Review: Memory Tapes - Player Piano

Memory Tapes - "Wait in the Dark"
This year Memory Tapes and other Chillwave acts have somewhat of an uphill battle when it comes to achieving the same level of acclaim that they received two years ago. The interim between releases from these artists for a year or two naturally quieted the hype for future material and made room for other trends. Now that Memory Tapes (aka Dayve Hawk), Washed Out, and Neon Indian are all putting releases out for this year, the guys who kicked off its genesis have to prove that they as artists aren’t limited by a sound or brand, and that they can subtly push Chillwave in a progressive direction, much as Portishead and Massive Attack accomplished with Trip-Hop.


With the exception of Toro Y Moi, Memory Tapes is the first of the above three to release their chillwave breakout follow-up this year. First thing’s first, Player Piano is still a chillwave record. If you turn it on for anyone who knows what that sounds like, they’ll be able to identify it fast. People who have decided they were through with chillwave aren’t going to see anything new here, and that obviously goes double for people who were never into it in the first place. And for the most part, they’re right. Although there’s less production this time around to make things a bit more downplayed, the songs still rely almost solely on key dance sequences. What’s egregious about this is that if one simply gives the songs a solid, and open-minded listen, he or she will come across dance-pop that has been refined in ways of minimalism, augmention and pacing between these two levels.

Where as on Memory Tapes’ debut Seek Magic, Hawks sought to create a multitude of various sounds from his synth, here that tendency is downplayed. Hawks seems far less reliant on glitzy synth effects, and this reduces much of the garish, make-believe production that was Seek Magic’s main crux. This opens up the sound to the key moments of every song, those being the ear-infesting dance hooks that Hawks seems to have a tremendously natural talent for creating. These dance hooks are present on almost every song, and are the staple of the album. Hawks’ vocal choruses are as strong as ever, most notably in “Wait in the Dark” and “Today is our Life”, but one of the best additions to Memory Tapes’ sound is the newly invested focus on Hawk’s guitar work. The sounds and styles of Hawk’s skill range from Sergio Leone-inspired rumblings in “Trance Sisters” to a song splitting guitar solo in “Today is our Life” that best recalls the legendary guitar riffs of Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamics.”

While these dance hooks are the highlight of most the songs, Hawks often takes a more ambient and down-beat approach to the songs, as hinted in the intro/outro. “Yes I Know” is the most somber of the bunch, following a barren drum beat as an acoustic guitar quietly pushes the song forward. The best example of this ambient take to the sound is “Humming,” which acts as the breath-catching interlude of the album. This song is masterfully produced, containing an ethereal choir, Boards of Canada-esque raw synths, and some inventive drumming to pick things up in the second half. This would be the most unique and inventive song on the album, if not for “Fell Through Ice II.” Picking up after the worst song on the album, Fell Through Ice II makes for a climactic epic, sparing little in the way of horns or bathroom effects.

Since I just suggested that there is a worst song on the album, you’d be smart to assume that there is bad here. Although Hawks finds some strengths in once again trodding through the chillwave playground, there are some spots that seem limited and very forced. Transitions getting from the beginning of a song and ending in a key dance hook seem to occasionally be built on a soft foundation. No where is this more evident than “Sun Hits.” Coming after the beautiful “Huming”, and starting with a grainy organ, one thinks that the quiet ambience will be taken further. You only have a few seconds to think this though, as then the real glitzy affair of a song clambers in and savagely rapes whatever dream you had held of that organ blooming into something smooth. It is at this precise moment that the established daydream styles of Memory Tapes begins to grow a bit thin. Throughout the album, a sense of lyrical forgery is committed as the lyrics start having anything to do with real life, and more about pandering to the idea of chillwave. This is the most disappointing thing on the album. While there are still other bad songs (“Fell Thru Ice” is painful, just take my word for it), getting this feeling that a talented artist is fine with playing to the same audiences in an increasingly tired trend is disheartening. I can only hear “Nothing’s a dream if you never wake up” so many times before I want to vomit up all the 80’s televisual fetishism and cocaine.

All that being said, there are still tons more highlights on this album than negatives. Dayve Hawk exhibits adept pop hooks and even a bit of easily digested experimentalism. While chillwave is beginning to grow moldy, Player Piano heavily rewards fans of the genre, and maybe even those who thought they were done with it. If it doesn’t immediately kill you upon listening, you may actually come to like it.