[Feb. 28, 2012 – Sub Pop Records // Find it at: Insound]
______________________________________________________________
Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion are, in a way, modern day sound architects. More known as the Guelph, Ontario, act called Memoryhouse, the duo have molded their past art project into The Slideshow Effect, a dazing mix of guitar pop and daydream electronica, that while it shape shifts in tone, has the ability to enforce words to dance off your tongue (“The Kids Were Wrong”, “Bonfire”). It’s just the former trait is their more dominating quality. Whereas it’s hard to predict what a band classified as dream pop and chill wave can create, the debut album is layered with an abstract haze of comprehension, where lyrics suffocate thoughts, drifting beside art country pop (“Punctum”), vivid post rock (“Old Haunts”) and punch-drunk jazz (“All Our Wonder”). In their taste for making daydreams more elicit, Memoryhouse also pair melancholic vocals with rippling guitars, stimulating a sense of desire and hate in “Pale Blue” and “Little Expressionless Animals” that softly touches your weak spot. The Slideshow Effect is imaginative to say the least, and the harmonious poetry that fosters an innate ability to be vivid is startlingly delightful.
Download: “Old Haunts”, “Pale Blue”, “Punctum”
[Find updates on album reviews, music news and videos on Twitter]