"“Memory” was the second song that we started working on for Preoccupations after “Anxiety”. It was unique to the sessions of the record in that we worked on it in every studio that we were in. The idea we had for it’s arc made it necessary to put more work into it than any of the other tracks. The finished result was worked on in 6 different studios over almost two years. Getting Dan in to record the vocals was the final piece of the puzzle and was Matt’s idea. We were tracking in Montreal and cold-called him to see if he wanted to sing a duet of sorts, but his vocal was so perfect for it that we didn’t use Matt’s for most of it".
Monty Munro, Stereogum
The 11-minute+ long "Memory" anchors Canadian post-punk quartet (Matt Flegel, Scott Munro, Daniel Christiansen and Mike Wallace) Preoccupations' (formerly known as Viet Cong) second studio album Preoccupations (2016), besides serving as a good example of the band's 'labyrinthine post-punk' aesthetic. The track has three separate sections, beginning with an intro sung by lead vocalist Matt Flegel, an interlude by Dan Boeckner (of Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, Divine Fits and Operators), and a moody and lengthy droning fade-out section.
The track's atmospheric nature and the mostly deadpan delivery often makes it difficult to hear the lyrics, but repeated listens unravel a narrative that intimately traces the mental breakdown of a significant other:
'But the picture seemed sharp enough to view life through youI can’t remember where we were, where were we when we all went under?You don’t have to say sorryFor all the things you failed to doYou don’t have to say sorryFor all the times when everything fell throughState-sponsored character assassinationI promise that I’ll burn your things when you’re dead and goneIt’s an orchestrated controversyNo strategies for dissolving in the atmosphereAnd the distance seemed sure enough from Point A to Point BYour favourite feeling was the ground falling out from beneath your feet
Lyrics: Genius
The album's Bandcamp description notes that "There’s love piercing through the iciness here, fighting its way forward in each of the song’s distinct sections" - a quality that's easy to overlook with all the direness and gloom in the air. It nevertheless strikes a good balance between distorted guitars, heavy mechanical clanging and the lighter 'confessional' indie piano segments, which are accompanied by switch to a more forgiving falsetto.
"Memory" - and the rest of the self-titled album - may be obssessed with moments of personal crisis, but its momentum prevents it from ever statically wallowing in depression and self-pity. After all this negative intensity, there's a narrow space for peace - and personal progress.
