In Memory of Man

“IN MEMORY OF MAN” BY IN MEMORY OF MAN
April 10, 2014 by On Tour Monthly - No Comments
- Brandon Callies -

“PUSH PLAY”

In Memory of Man’s new self titled album is a great mixture of straight ahead and anthemic rock that does not let up. High points of the album are “The Spider” and “The Fury (Of Rock & Roll” which are aggressive and easily capture the listener’s attention. The second half of the album veers and captures the band’s more melodic capabilities. Songs like “She Hangs the Moon” and “No Way Out” are unexpected and well placed. Singer, Alex Lilly, drives an already unique band with a very diverse vocal style. This album is a great listen. - On Tour Monthly

Unless you’re The Toadies, you can’t seem to get away with mod-rock in this town. Heavy riffs and pounding rhythms with vocalists singing melodically about loss, despair, and desperation tend to smack of artifice, of melodrama, of immaturity, of trying too hard, of painting by the numbers instead of being original (which shouldn’t be confused with “being intentionally sloppy”). Over the years, the style has been pulled off only by The Toadies and a handful of other local bands: Flickerstick, Goodwin, Stella Rose, KatsüK, and the North Texas sextet In Memory of Man.

In Memory of Man has just put out a self-titled album, and it’s the best slab of mod-rock to come from these parts over the past few years (and, yes, I know The Toadies released Play.Rock.Music in 2012). You can’t deny the quality of the songwriting or the performances. “Wanted,” anchored by a simple yet effective riff, drives forward like a stoner-rock band’s anthem to muscle cars. In “The Spider,” IMOM conjures up Soundgarden, stopping and starting sharply and breaking down into rumbling toms, with frontman Alex Lilly’s voice rising and falling to reflect the mood shifts.

Along with the distinctly IMOM-ish material (the pianistic “New Eyes,” “No Way Out,” and “Picture Box,” the epic and Goodwin-esque “Where Are You Now”), the album bears a lot of obvious influences. There’s a little latter-day Flickerstick (“Something in the Taste” with its percolating main riff and huge chorus), a little Pink Floyd (the instrumental “WindWalker”), and, yes, a lot of The Toadies (“The Fury (of Rock ’n’ Roll),” “Nothing at All”). In Memory of Man is like what the guys in Pantera might have cooked up once they reached middle age and outgrew the intoxicating death-sex-violence machismo that defines a lot of early-twentysomething rockers.

Recorded with veteran producer Barry Saling at his Arlington garage studio over the course of about two years, the album follows the band’s 2012 debut recording, The Reckoning EP. “When it came time to begin recording new tracks, we decided we wanted to do it as DIY as we could,” guitarist Chad Beck said. “We originally set out to record three new tracks for an EP, but we just kept recording and tweaking until we had 12. We wanted to be able to financially release a complete album and not lose our asses!”

Beck said he and his bandmates soon realized that nothing but an album would suffice. “Not just a single,” Beck said. “Not another EP. We wanted to release a record, because we still remember them. We remember what it meant to dive into your new favorite album and how it would take over your life for weeks on end.”

In addition to more current media, In Memory of Man will be available on vinyl.

“We’re pretty happy with the outcome,” Beck said. “We’re really excited to be able to get out and start playing to support it.”

Featuring members of Fair to Midland, The Feds, The House Harkonnen, Loaded Moses, and Microton, In Memory of Man also is still composing. “We’ve already started writing the next group of songs,” he said. “We’re looking to push [ourselves with] the next record a little bit … but most of all, we’re just looking forward to rockin’ and having a good time.” - Fort Worth Weekly

They’d been working on a new album for a little while now, and had only recently started selling some advanced copies of it. So, not only was this show sure to be filled with new music, but it was also going to mark the live debut of Matt Langley (formerly of Fair to Midland) as the bands new keyboardist.

They hit the stage with the force of a ten ton wrecking ball, opening their 35-minute set with the lead track from their new self-titled release, “Wanted”. It was quickly clear that this night they didn’t need any time to warm up; instead, they had already found their stride, as frontman Alex Lilly moved in synch with all the instruments, pulling back during the instrumental breaks, before again asserting himself as he belted out the lines. “Wanted! Wanted! Wanted! Bring your love to me!…” he and bassist Marcus Gonzales shouted during the chorus of that sensational rock number.

They had dozens and dozens of pairs of eyes looking on in awe, as Javier Garza used one of his cymbals to quickly count them right into their next song, “Headshot”. That was one of a few tracks they did from “The Reckoning” EP, mixing in the best of the old with the new this night, as they raced through that fast paced number, and hurried on to the next one.

Again, it was Javier who fired up another fiery track, “Something In the Taste”, which had its moments that allowed Alex to soften his voice, hitting some higher notes as he showed off the type of range he’s capable of. That was built upon during “New Eyes”, which they segued right into, and could easily be called their couples skate song. It also nicely showed off Matts’ ability as a keyboard player, and while my view of him was often obstructed, he was killing it back there, set up beside the drum kit. I also liked the way his two keyboards were set up, both slanted upward (or downward I guess, depending on how you look at it), with the backs of the keyboards angled towards the ground, which in turn resulted in a unique style of him playing them.

As the song ended, Johnny McConlogue placed a slide on one of his fingers, holding a long note on his guitar that resembled some feedback. Lead guitarist Chad Beck soon chimed in with his own subtle notes, stretching it out for a while, leaving the crowd wondering what was coming next. That question was answered with the first strike Javier made on his drums, revealing it to be their classic; “Paper Planes”. That song is still one of my favorites. And no, I don’t mean just one of my favorites form this band.

It’s a beautiful song, and at one point Alex reached out towards his girlfriend, holding her hand as he sang one of the lines, and the chorus of “…If only you and I could have that night again, to start again…” is just one of those that impacts you. On that note, the song packs a punch too, taking plenty of time to set itself up and establish that emotional connection, before they let loose as it peaked.

Their following song was the only one I didn’t know, but it had a brief part where Marcus churned out a bass solo. However, the best part came at the end, when they made one of the most seamless transitions I’ve heard a band do. Johnny suddenly switched gears, playing one note form that song, then the next instant doing the first note of “My Sweet”. His band mates the followed suit, making a truly perfect segue. AS it drew to a close, Alex faced stage right, throwing his left hand up in the air, then dropped it in exact time with Javier’s final drum beat.

“We are In Memory of Man, giving it all so you don’t have to.” Alex joked, which, aside from thanking people for watching, was the first real conversation he had struck up with the audience (I don’t mean that as a negative thing, seeing as they were so focused and driven to play everything they had planned.) He also took a moment to formally introduce Matt Langley, saying how privileged they were to have him in the band. “This should sound like liquid sex.” he stated, as they began their final song, which is also the final track from their new record, “Picture Box”, which capped things off well.

This show was almost as good as their CD release gig for “The Reckoning” about three and a half years before this, which, out of the few times I’ve seen these guys, is the best show I think I’ve seen them do.

All six of them were so in tune with one another this night it was ridiculous, and the performance they gave everyone was one that won’t soon be forgotten (if ever).

They each possess some superb skills as musicians, they can hold a crowds attention seemingly effortlessly, and Alex is one of the best singers I’ve come across, and the dude has an unmistakable voice.

I could say the band that followed them was the best band of the night, ‘cause personally, I’m biased. But being completely objective, out of the bands I saw here, this night belonged to In Memory of Man.

The new batch of songs they have is incredible, and while it took them a while to get a full-length put together, it’s nice to finally have. - The Music Enthusiast