Post Description

Op  Verzoek.

Chris Dumont and Torquil Campbell, the duo behind Memphis, spent the past three years recording in various locations across Canada, New York, and Washington. Their resulting third full-length, “Here Comes a City,” produces mixed results of romanticized indie-pop. The album, whose title is a nod to The Go-Betweens, represents an ongoing collaboration between two friends and stands as a slight departure from Campbell’s main project, Stars.
 City noise swells in and out of the album’s opener before quietly bleeding into “Apocalypse Pop Song.” Campbell’s gentle voice welcomes the end of the world with open arms. R.E.M. eat your heart out. The standout track sounds like if Chris Walla was fronting a stripped-down Broken Social Scene. Pop structures and dark imagery ensue, but the rest of “City” never reaches this level of proficiency.
 “Five Loops” is perhaps the moodiest track on the album. Dreamy and bleak, Campbell describes city living where the ‘decibels wake you at night.’ His voice sinks in with the band’s often minimal instrumentation — never drowning out completely, but also never stealing the show. “Reservoir” similarly demonstrates the duo’s ability of creating dark ambiance, layering echoes of distant voices and urban sounds. For being recorded in so many different places and over such an extended period of time, it’s amazing how cohesive the ten songs feel together.
 By the time “I am the Photographer” rolls around, the drums and guitars have become largely redundant and predictable. While the music is pleasant enough on its own merit, many of the songs on “City” tend to over-rely on their lyrical content and vocal melodies. Still, there are moments of surprise. “Way Past Caring” narrowly slips into Phil Collins “Against all Odds” territory before being saved by a climactic horn-filled ending where the drums finally cut loose.
 “Here Comes a City” is most compelling at its densest moments. Memphis are proficient at creating lush ambiance, giving great life to what would be otherwise boring pop songs — pop songs that would likely have you sleeping through the apocalypse.
 
For fans of: Death Cab for Cutie, The Notwist, Sufjan Stevens.

Canada
Rock
Label: Arts&Crafts

1.: Here Comes A City
 2.: Apocalypse Pop Song
 3.: I Want The Lights On After Dark
 4.: Loops
 5.: What Is This Thing Called
 6.: I Am The Photographer
 7.: Reservoir
 8.: Wait
 9.: Way Past Caring
 10.: M + E = Me