MEMORY BOYS

"Memory Boys are a Portland, OR based duo balancing pop and its darker side. Like sudden fleeting sun beams breaking through the gloom. Don’t expect current indie pop showmanship, memory boys are the real thing, straight out of the 90s."

“Memory Boys seem to span the Northwest—their members claim origin in Portland, Olympia, and Whidbey Island—and their music similarly spans the recent pop-music history of the terrain, with echoes of K Records’ and Kill Rock Stars’ best-loved releases and artists like Elliott Smith and LAKE. The first full-length, Send It Across to Me, is a deviously catchy album, with simple musical ideas that kaleidoscopically expand in front of your ears. Listen to the way “Pact” turns from slow, ground-out chords into a blossoming piano figure and a stunningly warm chorus. Throughout the record, there’s church-like organ, Zombies-esque harmonies, bummed-out balladry, sunshiny sing-alongs, and groaning guitar fuzz. These are perfectly constructed pop songs, and Send It Across to Me is a richly interesting and deeply rewarding album—the kind that you hang onto for years and years. It has “all-time favorite” potential written all over it.” NED LANNAMANN