Menace Beach – Lemon Memory – Album Review

Menace Beach are a five piece indie rock band hailing from the unusual destination of Leeds. The band have just released their second album ‘Lemon Memory’. It’s a collection of songs based around a distorted guitar sound, with some catchy bass lines. These are songs that would have been standard issue in the mid 90s, a decade in which indie pop was breaking the charts. These days it sounds quite unusual. They wear their influences on their sleeve, but there is something very enjoyable about the shouted chorus of songs such as ‘Suck It Out’ featured below.

The opening track Give Blood does something of a disservice to the album, as it’s not quite up to the standard of what comes after although it does have the great chorus of ‘Why do you always sing about death’. Maybe We’ll Drown has a good pounding guitar sound and a quirky bass line. It is a slow build and you keep waiting for an explosion that never quite arrives. Sentimental has the feel of a missing Strokes track from ‘Is This it’ era. Darlatoid is carried by an organ sound and shuffles off without incident. Suck it Out is a definite highlight, with more catchy lyrics and uptemo fun.

The album is a throw back to earlier times. There are hints of Weezer, Elastica, Grandaddy and the Strokes but it’s all enjoyable and bops along nicely. If you’re looking for some ground breaking music then look elsewhere but this is a fun and lively affair. I could see this album being great live.

Track List:

Give Blood
Maybe We’ll Drown
Sentimental
Lemon Memory
Can’t Get a Haircut
Darlatoid
Suck it Out
Owl
Watch Me Boil
Hexbreaker II