If you were a fan of Memory Tapes’ debut album, Seek Magic, his new LP, Player Piano, may leave you scratching your head. The second record from the New Jersey based musician is a hazy, heady dream world. The Tapes have discarded electronic dance beats in favour of spacey, ethereal melodies and haunting lyrics. At times it’s beautiful, at other times crushingly depressing in its raw honesty. Player Piano reflects on the day-to-day struggle of coming to terms with our shortcomings. It is an album of missed opportunities, regret, happiness and frustration.

On an individual level the songs are gorgeous. The production and instrumentation are perfect, and each song succeeds in levying some sort of emotional connection with its listener. Even the punchier tracks that seem like blissful pop numbers are shrouded in darkness. Today Is Our Life has a boppy beat. A fun harpsicord plinks and a rigorous, if not entirely cheesy, guitar riff is prompted by the line ‘Happiness is real!’. But underneath the forced smile is the feeling of despair and loneliness.

Player Piano aspires to be a soundtrack for life itself and, in consequence, it fails to achieve the cohesion that made its predecessor so easy to tap your foot to. But life is full of ups and downs and Memory Tapes succeeds in capturing the rollercoaster ride of human emotion on this new record. Whether that is a good or bad thing is for you to decide.

Ryan Lynch

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