In the pop-fueled music industry, it is rare to come across a new band that has talent, depth and the ability to make you feel its music.
Memento, a Los Angeles based band has done just that.
Their debut CD, Beginnings, may just be the beginning of a long career.
When lead singer Justin Cotta and drummer Steve Clark left the comfort of a record deal with Elektra and their former band Vast to start over, they probably had no idea what they would stumble into. They found that with guitarist Space and bassist Lats, they had an undeniable musical chemistry that would propel them to a new record deal with Columbia, and one of the most emotional rock CD's to come out in a long time.
Beginnings manages to blend straightforward rock and roll with a hefty helping of emotional release that keeps the album's momentum from start to finish.
The effect of this is essentially a dual assault on the senses. The angry backbeats and screaming rhythms of the guitars serve to amplify the anguished but clearly sung vocals, making a true connection with the music possible. Despite the album's emotional and often stressed anguish, the musical style is impressive, if not a bit unoriginal.
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Behind the excellent production value, the band may be trying to hide a list of influences that take up residence in the mid-'80s. In both the vocal styling and musical composition, it is evident that Memento has been heavily influenced by the power ballad sensibilities of the thankfully out-of-style hair bands of old.
While this may be troubling to some, none should let that dissuade them from listening to this CD. Somehow, the formula has been reworked with just the right amount of some magic ingredient that keeps the album from feeling corny or contrived.
Perhaps the band's strongest area is Cotta's lyrics. The songs manage to be meaningful while still having a near perfect flow that fits seamlessly into the music with only few exceptions. In songs like "Nothing Sacred" and "Beginnings" Cotta sings about trying to fit in and facing ones fears -- basic angst-rock topics that don't seem like clichÇd reworkings of every other song available on the subject.
In "Nothing Sacred," Cotta sings "In your blood write/ I am not afraid/ this is who I am/ I will never be like you/ I do not kneel" and the feeling of intense but seemingly resolved anger resonates as clearly as the guitar.
Again, in "Savior" the words seem to be an accurate reflection of the music creating a unity of tortured lyrics with expressive composition. "We tried so hard to erase you/ we tried so hard to pretend you were dead/ I walked the earth to escape you/ now I walk the earth just to touch you again."
Regardless of the state of your CD collection, room should be made for Memento's Beginings. It may not become the biggest rock album in history, but it will definitely make you feel something and in the end, isn't that what music is all about?
