Yasmine Hamdan I remember I forget
Released Sep 19, 2025 Crammed Discs
Early read 2 professional reviews Updated Nov 21, 2025
Broadly positive consensus
Early read based on 2 professional reviews. Yasmine Hamdan's I remember I forget arrives as a quietly urgent statement, marrying synthpop textures to regional memory and political anguish.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
I remember I forget
2 critic mentions
“you’d be forgiven for hearing the album’s title track as nothing more than a tune to light up a club.” — PopMatters
Shadia
2 critic mentions
“Shadia’ is similarly bittersweet, although sonically a retro love song with twinkling Nubian strings,” — The Quietus
Vows
2 critic mentions
“Tracks like ‘Vows’ feel like classic Yasmine Hamdan, vibrating with dub-heavy trip-hop reverbs accompanied by a creeping flute.” — The Quietus
Full critic consensus
Yasmine Hamdan's I remember I forget arrives as a quietly urgent statement, marrying synthpop textures to regional memory and political anguish. Across two professional reviews the record earned a 75/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to a tension between grief and groove that defines the collection.
Reviewers agree the title track “I remember I forget” emerges as the album's thematic center, its detached litany set against upbeat electronics. Equally highlighted are “Shadia” and “Vows”, which critics praise for turning solemn poetry into danceable pulse, and “Shmaali” which PopMatters singles out as a near-perfect meeting of Lebanese musical traditions and modern production. The Quietus emphasizes moments like “Hon” as mournful apexes that translate collective grief into hypnotic motion, while PopMatters notes the record's intimate yet theatrical register.
Critical consensus frames I remember I forget as an experimental electronic record that channels nostalgia, memory and political turmoil through sleek synths and trip-hop rhythms. Some reviewers flag the album's restrained delivery as deliberate rather than limiting, so while the tone leans toward elegy and unease, the songs repeatedly return melodic payoff. For readers searching for an I remember I forget review, the professional reviews suggest standout tracks “I remember I forget”, “Shadia”,” “Vows” and “Shmaali” as the best songs on the record and prime entry points into Hamdan's latest statement.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Hon هون
Shmaali شمالي
Shadia شادية
The beautiful losers الحلوين الخسرانين
I remember I forget بنسى وبتذكر
Vows سبع صنايع
Abyss حويك وزويك
Mor مر التجني
DAYA3 ضياع
Reminiscence غروب
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 2 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Yasmine Hamdan returns on I remember I forget with songs that feel like elegies for a breaking world, and the best tracks - “I remember I forget”, “Shadia” and “Hon” - crystallize that tension. The title track lays out the album’s thesis, a detached litany of normalized horrors set against upbeat synths, while “Shadia” asks for tenderness like a plea at the end of the world. “Hon” is the record’s mournful apex, sparse then swelling into a hypnotic groove that translates collective grief into percussive motion. These songs, more than any single moment, answer the question of the best songs on I remember I forget by combining Hamdan’s signature trip-hop with political clarity and aching melody.
Key Points
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The title track is best for its direct, detached summation of regional trauma set to upbeat electronics.
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The album pairs Hamdan’s signature trip-hop and experimental textures with grief and political clarity, balancing sorrow with persistence.
Themes
Critic's Take
Yasmine Hamdan grounds herself on I Remember I Forget with songs that balance grief and groove, and the best songs show that tension plainly. The review lifts out “Shmaali” as a near-perfect example of tradition meeting modern sound, while “I remember I forget” and “Vows” push solemn poetry into dance.
Key Points
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The best song, “Shmaali”, exemplifies how regional tradition can be updated into modern electronic pop.
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The album's core strength is its blend of political weight and danceable, synth-inflected arrangements delivered by a commanding voice.