Christmas 2009 was nearly perfect for me. It was the closest we (in London) have come to a white Christmas for a long time. I had a university holiday, providing me with ample time to do whatever I fancied. I spent the time discovering The Antlers, in particular Hospice, while devouring The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, and gave the XX’s debut a good listen in the short space of time it took to get through John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
I’ve also always thought that the best music is that which evokes these kinds of memories. It’s fair to say that whenever I listen to either of the albums I’ve mentioned that I think of those four weeks. When I first saw The Road at the cinema I couldn’t help but think that although Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ soundtrack wasn’t half bad, it didn’t come close to making me feel the way Hospice had.
And all of that brings me nicely onto Memoryhouse’s The Years, an album seemingly drenched in nostalgia. First released in 2010, it received a re-release last week on Sub Pop. The two releases do differ in track listing and length, with the general consensus that the original is the better. Pitchfork summed up the EP perfectly, praising the original for “confirm(ing) that the past was indeed as good as you remember.”
Have a listen to Lately (Deuxieme) from the original release, and click here to check out the new version on Spotify. I hope it makes you feel the way I do.