How about Memories…Do Not Listen? American producer/DJ duo, Andrew Taggart and Alex Pull’s first full length album is a well- constructed blank slate of crossover aspirations. That dreaded apparatus – the producer/DJ pairing – is a creature of the early 21st century that smacks of shallowness, easy money and favours being phoned in.
The Chainsmokers have morphed into group/musician form after the success of their hit #selfie. That piece proved the latest darlings of EDM to be capable and shiny sounding purveyors of club music and dance video, gutless thought it may be. Despite the cameos, it’s torturous and boring. Cameos and collaborations are to be expected and Memories…Do Not Open doesn’t disappoint.
Even Coldplay can‘t elevate an overblown piece of bluster like the cheesy electronica of Something Like This. All bets are off and you know what you’re in for when a minute into the first track, The One, Taggart’s auto-tuned voice uses the F-bomb over a pedestrian beat ballad. Despite cussing in their first three songs, they sound like they got up from a nap, had milk and cookies and headed for their samplers and synths. Yawn! This sound puts the “D” in digital and the “S” in … something else.
I’ll invoke the Spinal Tap clause in brief album reviews, although this is longer than that group had. Time to end with an opinion used for Celine Dion: They have enough fans, they don’t need me. But who those fans are is a mystery. At least Celine can sing, though.
– Dean Gordon-Smith is a Vernon-based musician who reviews the latest music releases every Friday for The Morning Star.