Memorial - “Corduroy”
Photo by Garry Jones
Indie folk duo Jack and Ollie, aka Memorial, have just released the charmingly upbeat and stripped-back sounds of “Corduroy.”
A lo-fi and distant beat gets things started, soon evolving into a hearty, acoustically driven arrangement, guaranteed to get your feet tapping and your head bobbing. It does not take long to hear the precise moment that we fell in love with this tune– the arrival of the vocal performance. Memorial have the divine gift of being warmly reminiscent of both Elliott Smith and Flyte, two of our forever favorites. The double-tracked delivery instantly ignites a cornucopia of musical memories– the more you increase the volume, the better it feels to be alive.
Soft harmonies drift in and out of the tune, magically soothing our soul and washing away the remnants of another weekday, which makes perfect sense when you consider the meaning behind the song– according to Memorial: “Corduroy is the actualisation of a feeling. It was written in the residual joy following a perfect day. One of those days that hits a sweet spot - The weather holds out, it’s so unplanned but all your friends seem to be available, no effort is required to feel comfortable and your mind is so spacious that it has enough room to simultaneously be present in the moment and witness it as an outer body experience. This song is about the memory of a day like this and knowing that not every day can be like this.”
The arrival of the hook allows some delicate strings to emerge, subconsciously convincing you to return for multiple listens. And while our tastes usually lead us to something a bit more melancholic, the energetic, whisically-propelled percussion of “Corduroy” reminds us that it is perfectly acceptable to be drawn toward music that simply makes you feel good.
In its three minute and fifteen second runtime, Memorial’s “Corduroy” will deeply resonate within your soul, removing the turbulence that occurs from merely existing. And even though this is only our first glimpse into their musical world, we anticipate the duo returning to our blog with every new release.
-HD