The title of this record is somewhat ironic since Dan Michaelson admits: "There's very little I could say with any authority about my past.”
This is the Northampton born songwriter's final installment of an album trilogy after Blindspot (2013) and Distance (2014). Michaelson says the first was the script, the second was the play and so this makes Memory the widescreen movie.
In terms of cinematic genres, we are certainly not talking action thrillers or romantic comedies here. With a focus on interiors rather than exteriors, I imagine a Scandinavian drama with a faulty projector meaning that it can only play it in slow motion.
Lost Birds begins with what could be the opening shot of this imaginary movie - "I was walking you home when the rains above broke"
Michaelson's poor memory compounds the problem that what we remember can be notoriously fleeting and unreliable particularly as we get older. The singer says his "songs are a way of freezing a moment recollected before it moves on without me.".
The title track specifically ponders these issues and on the poignant closing song, Half The Reason, he sings with a calmness masking a hint of desolation "I was remembering when time was too easy to spend, now that my days are too long".
Such melancholy is always expressed with a studied resilience. On No Other Way, he reflects "Some things never die they just lose their way".
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To match the mood, the arrangements are sparse, minimal and unplugged. There is some discrete use of brass and strings but the main thrust of each tune still comes from the core instruments of piano, guitar and percussion.
The Coastguards Henry Spenner (drums), Laurie Earle (guitar, piano) and Horse (guitar) are augmented by Romeo Stodart of The Magic Numbers (bass), Ali Friend (double bass), Gabriel Stebbing (cello), Johnny Flynn (violin and flugelhorn), Jin Theriault (baritone sax), Yusuf Narcin (trombone) and Christo Squire (alto sax).
The seven tracks are all slow and measured while Michaelson's baritone voice articulates the burden he carries. The leaden pace mirrors the weight of his emotions and, while the sadness clearly goes deep, he evokes feelings of empathy not pity.
The seven tracks last just over half an hour but the relatively short length feels just about right. Everything is in place and there is no unnecessary padding on an album to treasure ........ and remember.
Dan Michaelson's website
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