After a near break-up, the Philadelphia-based band Remember Sports (formerly simply Sports) are back with their third full-length, Slow Buzz. It’s an appropriate title for this collection of tracks, which are about the eternal hum of uncertainty that invades every aspect of life. And like that persistent white noise, Slow Buzz has a way of keeping you in its grip. The band sounds more sturdy than they did on their first two albums, the excitability of All Of Something and Sunchokes giving way to more lax and laidback structures. That means there’s less of the full-blown panic attacks that the band became known for, but their songwriting chops are just as strong, even when there’s more room to breathe.
“No Going Back,” one of the best songs on the album, shows how much Remember Sports can do with that additional space. Clocking in at almost five minutes, it’s a celestial wallow about the slow discovery that who you thought you were meant for isn’t right. “When you were the one and I wasn’t okay/ And if you’re not the one and I’m still not okay, then there’s no going back,” Carmen Perry sings, each word sounding like the realization is sinking in deeper. It’s about learning to be on your own, content with the memory of something that’s faded.
The band’s shared three singles from the album in advance of its release — “Up From Below,” “Pull Through,” and “The 1 Bad Man” — and today you can stream Slow Buzz a little early. Hear it via Noisey below.
Slow Buzz is out 5/18 via Father/Daughter Records.
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