Remember Remember - Remember Remember

My wife and I are milling about the house on a Sunday morning, ‘Remember Remember’ on the stereo. I find myself dancing to a track, aptly titled ‘The Dancing’, oblivious for minutes of the fact that the wife is doing the exact same thing in another room. When we both wander into the living room to find ourselves mirroring each other, we laugh and proceed make tea (me) and coffee (her). She thinks nothing more of the synchronised spontaneity; I, though, dwell upon it, concluding such a happening must be the result of hearing a quite wonderful record.

Of course, first impressions can often be misleading – while ‘Remember Remember’ is indeed a fine debut album, its opener proper isn’t wholly representative of what follows. While ‘The Dancing’ clicks and clacks like Errors, much of this swoons and sweeps like the more-gorgeous moments of Mice Parade; it flutters its eyelids and has you blushing with ease, the romantic overtones taking hold by the time ‘Fountain’ unwinds itself fully, cyclical guitar patterns hypnotising the listener into a sweet submission. As the track bleeds into the chimes of ‘Mountain’, another mood is manifested, further emotions evoked. Here, delicate instrumentation builds to a fuzzy electro stomp, like The Knife at their most disco-friendly.

Ostensibly the solo project of ex-Multiplies member Graeme Ronald, Remember Remember are a multi-headed on-record beast, with contributors many aiding the production of these ten tracks. Joan Sweeney’s sublime violin work paints pieces with a tangible texture missing on many electro albums, while fellow ex-Multiplies member (and present Errors drummer) James Hamilton adds percussive urgency where required. Even Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite gets in on the action, credited as contributing handclaps.

At its most serene it’s easy to draw parallels between Ronald’s work and that of renowned score composers – there’s a cinematic lusciousness and brilliant luminescence to atmospheric arrangements like ‘The Swimming’ and ‘Imagining Things (ii)’; but even when stripped back to bare bones, as on that initially impacting ‘The Dancing’, there’s a considerable depth to ‘Remember Remember’ that keeps its audience curious to delve further into its layers, shifting the sediment to reveal more delights. For all its eccentricities – recordings of fizzing Irn Bru, of ‘instruments’ including Wind-up Monkey and Sellotape Dispenser – there’s a very accessible heart to this album, one that any man or woman can relate to, and enjoy.

You might dance – you certainly will to begin with – but you might also end the experience crying, just a little. ‘Remember Remember’ is that kind of album – to dive into cliché it is quite the journey, a tale told not by words but by emotions ingrained in instrumentation beautifully developed and perfectly executed. Pigeonhole it as post-rock and you sell its charms short; as modern classical and you can alienate potential admirers. So just take this away with you: ‘Remember Remember’ is one of the most wonderful records you’ll hear in 2008. Or 2009, for that matter.

And if you were really paying attention, you’d have got that message some 400 words ago.

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Read Graeme Ronald's track-by-track guide to 'Remember Remember' HERE.