A short but sweet set is the call of the evening tonight for New Jersey’s Memory Tapes only entertaining this small yet eager Stereo audience for just over half an hour. With only one full length to his name, in last year’s wonderful Seek Magic, it was unsurprising the latest act in uprising of the dream pop scene to hit Scottish shores would not be here for long on his first visit.
Dayve Hawk, the man behind Memory Tapes, cuts a much more laid back image on stage than other genre contemporaries as he stands calmly onstage in loose hanging trousers and plaid shirt. Despite this image the tunes have an even more uplifting feel than on the record as Hawk, along with his touring drummer, treat us to a selection of tracks from the album filled out with some charming pre recorded almost new wave beats.
Tracks like “Plain Material” and “Graphics” provide perfect examples of why this acts deserves a bigger crowd as some of these track would equally be at home at now sadly finishing Optimo as they would at half past nine on a Friday night in Stereo.
Hawk had been charming us all of last summer with various dreamy chilled out singles under this guise, as well as others Memory Cassette and Weird Tapes. Arguably the best of these singles came in tonight’s closer “Bicycle” which provides tonight’s highlight being drawn out perfectly to nearly three times its original 5:20 length. Memory Tapes may have only give us a glimpse but in that glimpse can be found the essence of this scene and why it has taken off in such a way.
Saturday 13 March 2010
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