Album Review: Like a Stone by Remember Sports
Remember Sports
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Label: Father/Daughter Records
Sometimes you listen to an album and every track just clicks. Immediately. For me, that happened with Sunchokes, Sports’ 2014 debut full-length. It was the first semester of my sophomore year, and I was at a bit of a personal crossroads. I was knee deep in the almost clichéd late-adolescent soul-searching, and it was in the midst of this self-exploration that I stumbled across Sunchokes. It was raw, it was real, and it fully captured the shitstorm of emotions swirling around my conscience: angst, optimism, outrage, desire. It was far from perfect—Sunchokes certainly plays like an amateur college recording—but that made it resonate all the more. Now two years later, I’m no longer grappling with those questions of self, but I nevertheless still listen to Sunchokes and look back fondly on those days.
Sports have gone through a bit of self-realization and evolution themselves. Since leaving the collegiate hamlet of Gambier, Ohio, the group has split up, gone on hiatus, and rejoined with a fresh lineup under a tongue-in-cheek new name. Remember Sports, as they are now called, debuted in 2018 with Slow Buzz, a thoughtful comeback that showcased the sweeping talent among both mainstays Carmen Perry and Catherine Dwyer and new additions Jack Washburn and Conner Perry. This past April, the group released the long-awaited follow up Like a Stone, which carries off of Slow Buzz to easily become their most fully-realized album to date. From the purely infectious opener “Pinky Ring” to the not-quite-delicate closer “Odds Are”, the album is wrought with an emotional rollercoaster of impassioned highs and lows, brilliantly shaped in equal parts by the intelligent lyricism and well-engineered sonic arrangements.
Catch the official music video for the opening track “Pinky Ring”.
Like a Stone is markedly cleaner, but the scrappy, almost ramshackle sound that put the band’s first iteration on the map is not completely lost. While Perry’s manic, near-shrieking vocal delivery has been softened, the frenetic “Falling Awake” and lively “Flossie Dickie” prove that she can still harness the biting energy that fueled early angst-ridden bangers like “Clean Jeans” and “Get Bummed Out”. In fact, the whole band achieves previously unthinkable levels of melodiousness throughout this latest release, all without completely shedding their pop-punk roots, perhaps evidenced most vividly through the penultimate “Out Loud”. Over a lengthy seven minutes, the track navigates the ever-elusive search for relationship clarity through a combination of delicate verses and ornate instrumentals. An underlying acoustic riff adds warmth to the song, while a soft drum beat and deep bassline hold down the rhythm, building until Perry’s signature wail signals the climax. As the song closes, members sing the poetic, questioning chorus single-file: “And I won’t stop, never give up / Trying to get everything out / Of your head into your mouth / We can make this last if you say it out loud.”
Like a Stone is markedly cleaner, but the scrappy, almost ramshackle sound that put the band’s first iteration on the map is not completely lost.
Remember Sports closes Like a Stone with the line “Well, I don’t know why but I think we all deserve another try / Yeah, I don’t know why but I think my odds are good this time.” It is a rare moment of optimism from a group that’s so persistently self-deprecating, but it couldn’t be more true. Few groups have been able to weather the sort of identity whiplash that occurs in making the transition from “brazen” and “stripped down” to “charming” or even “anthemic”, with many failing in the process. (The Replacements and Hüsker Dü come to mind, in particular.) Yet, Remember Sports has been able to do so even after a multi-year break and relocation, a testament to their dedication and resilience. If Like a Stone is any indication of what’s in store for the future, then I can’t wait to see these guys prove themselves right.
Remember Sports before the 2018 release of Slow Buzz. (PC: NPR)