Errant Boy – Memory Fractures
Errant Boy's latest album is complex with a lot to take in, but it's well worth ruminating on
On their latest album Memory Fractures, Errant Boy use inspired recording techniques to experiment with off-beat tempo and slowed down sounds. The Edinburgh-based indie-pop trio cite The Go-Betweens and The Smiths as influences on their new album which opens with Means, creating tin can machine-like jangling and rhythmic riffing reminiscent of the intro to Orange Juice’s Blue Boy.
Tracks like Theme From 29 Bus capture atmospheric noise, with synth-esque guitars sounding like a melody from an out of control merry-go-round, which is recorded to tape then played backwards; a particularly percussive track, the drums sound like the tops of old glass bottles being hit, to disorientating effect.
It's as though the songs have been recorded from 'the undeserted house' described from Errant Boy’s memory, with each band member playing or singing from a more distant memory or room in the house, while we stand and listen to the somehow still cohesive sound from the landing. Each track is like catching a glimpse of a party or a scene through an open door before it snaps shut, obscuring the sound. Sean Ormsby's confident vocals have all the energy of a pub crooner, with all of the attitude of a natural born frontman.
Memory Fractures lends itself well to being played over and over as the listener is often left feeling fuzzyheaded, akin to 'Three nights on the lash,' as sung on We Like You. The album is complex, with a lot to take in, but it's well worth ruminating on: confident, bold, highly charged and full of kinetic energy.
Listen to: Means, We Like You, 444