SLITES - Memory Beacon

Released: November 25

The whole vibe of this album is rather intriguing. On the one hand, it is quiet and meditative with cinematic overtones. But on the other hand, it feels as though there is something behind all that quietness. Perhaps it is a serious aura of deep introspection, the kind of which that bring back memories both good, bad, painful, and joyous. It could just be me reading a bit into it, but giving a full listen through brought to mind movies such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Probably just because it is something that feels heartfelt and touching, but with just the right amount of bittersweet notes interlaced within. 

There are two tracks in particular that stood out to me, so much as to still stand out in my mind through the full runtime. The first was "John the Greengrocer" as the deep and rolling pads caught my ear at first but then it was the more or less broken melody than began to accompany it shortly into the song. It feels emblematic of what SLITES is trying to convey here as it is simply the name of someone and how they were known to the one remembering him. But all the details are so murky and there is no fully fleshed out person that we are seeing; it is simply a watered down memory that contains no other information. 

The second track, "St. Ann's Well" does something similar except with a place. The are lighter pads and a similarly somewhat broken melody (though slightly less so in this case), but there is also the familiar sound of trickling water in the cavernous space. Similarly, there are no additional details besides just the foggy memory of a place that was visited long ago. And it is this theme that the album is centered around - memories of days, people, and places long past. What's more, the album subtly implies that the actual places and people may no longer exist, much like the days.