Andrew DuncanOHVAUR
A Memories Chase
Independent
★★★★
No musician has recently been in tune with the concept of spirit and place like Timothy Den. Fueled by years in the entertainment business (working at Lollipop Magazine for two decades as Assistant Editor, founding his own website Transform Online, fronted the Boston-based band Kimone, and have scored numerous short films including the Sundance promoted Bitch) and a life-time of transient spirit, Den has created a musical panorama of life on this planet through the scope of human emotion.
A Memories Chase is constructed in a classic manner because the best hits you up front, and it seems apparent that was the intention. The title track acts like a hit maker. I first heard this song weeks prior, and it was this song that immediately grabbed my attention to pursue the rest of the album.
The song screams classic alternative buzz with pure pop aesthetics. The music is moving, layering with enough complication to make you go back and grab different aspects within the song. It breathes like a great Hum composition while adding the energy of Jawbox. A lot of thought went into how this song would play out. It paid off.
But how does the rest of the album compare? With the strength of the title track, “You Chose To Bury Love” is more expansive in a contemplative manner. Toned-down, the second impression is comparable to the first while resting on a different level of the band. There is a degree of ambience hovering throughout the song that spins into a transition of deeper contemplation on “Northern Strength.” Not as expressive as the other songs, it’s a complimentive piece.
OHVAUR – Broken Faceless Silhouettes
Halfway through the album, the song “No One Single Part” shows us that we just have not experienced the potential that presented itself on the title track. These songs are good, but not as moving as the opener.
It takes “Till I Won’t Surface” to make a change in mood. More electronic oriented, the band continues the progression. But before that, I want to note that “Out of the Cave” is a particular interesting piece, not just within the context of the music but the scope of the album. It’s a song that presents a sense of freedom. It’s the moment of enlightenment; that feeling where you realize that there is so much more out there than the scope of your own reality. A Platonic dream. For the band, they let go, and hope you consciously do the same.
There is no climactic outreach and no grand finale. In the scheme of the album, it ebbs and flows in a progressive manner. Doing this makes the album breathe with delight. It also allows the title track to remain on a pedestal, but when you put it all in perspective, A Memories Chase is an intelligent album from front to back.