From the Far End of the Courtyard

 

Public Memory is the solo project of Robert Toher of the Brooklyn duo ERAAS (along with Austin Stawiarz). ERAAS' sound is more post-punk shoegaze whereas Public Memory is more downtempo trip-hop. You know which side of the fence that puts me.

This first share features gritty atmospherics, damaged synthesizers, & unearthly vocals blended with a mixture of electronic & organic percussion, creating a sense of forceful unease combined with the shadowy production for a unique contrast between power & vulnerability.

Public Memory - Ripped Apparition, Felte FLT071, 2020.
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Worn Shadow    
Bad Orbit    
Düsseldorf Witch Hat    
Courtroom Tap Water
Butcher    
Azimuth    
Midsummer Shadow    
Epigone    
Dracula A.D.    
Lost Future

 

 

 

Over the past seven years, Public Memory's distinctive use of analog synthesizers, electronic beats mixed with organic percussion, lo-fi sound design, & gritty ambience has created a singularly eerie & shadowy world.

The first seconds of Public Memory's new record, Elegiac Beat, thrust us immediately into that world. There is something terribly askew: bits of brightness here, some shadows piled thick there, some jazz / funk amongst the Dub & Krautrock. The track has a jazzy, trip-hop flavor, albeit filtered through Public Memory's narcotic, hazy lens. Persistent is the feeling of being haunted, or even hunted in some way. Faded distant synthesizers meld with voices, human or otherwise that beckon us as well as warn us. This should appeal to fans of 1990s Bristol trip hop, coldwave, or Thom Yorke's The Eraser.

 

 

Public Memory - Elegiac Beat, Felte FLT098, 2023.

Side 1 -
Clocktower Époque
Savage Grin
Afterimage
Cruel
7 Floor

Side 2 -
The Spider Starves
No Shadow
Far End of the Courtyard
Tall in My Room
CPL 593H

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ