MEMORIALS

MEMORIALS are an experimental pop band from the UK with a psychedelic sound that is both melodic and unconventional. They draw inspiration from all corners of your record collection, including folk, dub, post punk, experimental tape music, kosmische, spiritual jazz and Canterbury prog. Think Nico singing with Can produced by David Axelrod and you’re somewhere in the right ballpark, for a song or two at least. With their playful, genre-bending style they sit comfortably alongside Broadcast, Portishead and The Velvet Underground. Touring has taken them around the world, including invitations to open for Stereolab and Tortoise.

After releasing two acclaimed film soundtracks in 2023, the duo (Verity Susman and Matthew Simms, previously of Electrelane/WIRE) began recording their own more song-based music resulting in an assured and adventurous debut album, 2024’s Memorial Waterslides. Their follow-up was n March 2026 – the stunning album All Clouds Bring Not Rain. The duo locked themselves away in a studio in a barn secluded deep in the woods in southwestern France and re-emerged with a beautiful, unusual record that is both melodic and unconventional. For such an ambitious album it’s striking that it was written, performed, recorded and mixed solely by the two of them.

Sounding like an unearthed classic, MEMORIALS twist their influences into their own unmistakable sound. Imagine Nico singing with Can produced by David Axelrod and you’re somewhere in the right ballpark. The record draws inspiration from a wide range of music including folk, dub, post punk, experimental tape music, 60s soul, garage rock, 70s spiritual jazz and Canterbury prog.

This attention to detail in their sound meant finding several other studios to get what they needed to record with, including a harpsichord at 4AD’s studio in London and a vibraphone and vintage Leslie speaker in Stereolab drummer Andy Ramsay’s studio Press Play.

Verity’s distinctive, unadorned singing is a focal point of the record, moving from tender to wild. Her vocal melodies quickly become earworms, providing the tuneful heart around which the songs’ more unorthodox elements are arranged, which is where Matthew’s unconventional approach to recording and production comes to the fore.

With their adventurous arrangements, classic songwriting skills and innovative production techniques, MEMORIALS have created another mesmerising listen that’s accomplished and compelling in its unique approach yet remains dizzyingly immersive – just like their acclaimed live shows.

“Kaleidoscopic art-pop and adventurous psych-rock with an immersive, experimental aura” KEXP

“Advanced and adventurous avant pop action” The Wire

“A band who appear to have ideas in abundance” The Quietus

“Embodies the polarities of avant-garde and classic songwriting” Under the Radar