REMORA
Enamored (Silber Records)
Reviewed by Holly Day

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When I was twelve, there was this boy I was really in love with, and he didn't give a crap about me. At the same time, I had this friend who had already grown boobs and wore lots of makeup and all the boys just loved her. One day, this friend of mine decided that she'd do me a favor and arrange a situation where I could spend some time with the boy I liked. At the end of this story, she and I and this boy and his friend were all sitting together in a room lit only by an ultraviolet light, and there was a bottle spinning, and I got to kiss this boy I liked. It was totally uninspiring and quick and not even really a kiss, and it didn't change anything between us.

I don't know why, but this album reminds me of that night. Honestly, I hadn't thought about that night for over a decade until after the second track, "Let It Die on the 4th of July," came on, and all the loneliness and dizziness and anticipation of that night just washed over me. Cecilia - that's the name of the girl the boy, Sean, ended up going out with. She had long hair and wore a tube top every day of the year. There's a late-night feeling to the mechanical washes, sans percussive minor-chord-heavy guitar strumming, and melancholy refrains of the mostly-instrumental/ambient songs on this, on this collection of songs about being alone, settling for whatever you can get out of life, and futile threats and empty promises. It's a beautiful-sounding thing, even if it does cause one to bring up painful memories that really want to stay buried.

[Pick this up at www.silbermedia.com.]

© 2005 - Holly Day