MEMORIALS Memorial Waterslides
MEMORIALS's Memorial Waterslides arrives as a defiantly wonky debut that wedges eerie songcraft into free-form collage, answering whether Memorial Waterslides is worth hearing with an emphatic yes. Across The Quietus review the record earned an 80/100 consensus score from one professional review, and critics praised how jubilant arrangements often conceal haunted lyrics about time passing and mortality.
Reviewers consistently point to standout tracks that crystallize the album's strange charm: “Acceptable Experience”, “Lamplighter” and “I Have Been Alive” emerge as the best songs on Memorial Waterslides where tape loops, dueling basslines and a wheezy Farfisa drag melodies back from the brink. The Quietus highlights folk and jazz interludes threaded through experimental collage production, creating moments that feel like ghost stories set to jubilant instrumentation.
While some may find the record's cryptic titles and deliberate chaos polarizing, the critical consensus suggests a richly imagined debut that rewards repeated listens and marks MEMORIALS as a duo with abundant ideas and a distinctive voice.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
I Have Been Alive
1 mention
""unites the band's primary modes of loopy experimentalism and pop nous""— The Quietus
Acceptable Experience
1 mention
""opens on a bed of warbling tape loops, following a pair of dueling basslines""— The Quietus
Lamplighter
1 mention
""a musically jubilant track with Simms' drumming racing alongside the organ""— The Quietus
"unites the band's primary modes of loopy experimentalism and pop nous"
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Acceptable Experience
Lamplighter
Cut It Like A Diamond
Name Me
Memorial Waterslide II
Book Stall
False Landing
Horse Head Pencil
I Have Been Alive
The Politics of Whatever
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 2 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
MEMORIALS's Memorial Waterslides is a defiantly wonky, cryptically-titled record whose best songs — notably “Acceptable Experience”, “Lamplighter” and “I Have Been Alive” — marry eerie songcraft with free-form chaos. Will Salmon writes with relish about tape loops, dueling basslines and a Farfisa that drags songs back from the brink, celebrating those moments where melody and mayhem collide. The review highlights how jubilant arrangements mask haunted lyrics, making the best tracks feel both immediate and mysteriously resonant. In his tone, the album is at once melancholy and joyful, a debut that rewards repeated listens and proves the duo have ideas in abundance.
Key Points
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The best song, "I Have Been Alive", is the album's boldest synthesis of experimental textures and pop craft, anchored by a visionary vocal.
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The album's core strengths are its blend of eerie songcraft, free-form tape-collage experimentation, and consistent thematic focus on mortality and time.