Album Review: Dan Cribb - 'The Memories Last'

Dan Cribb, from Perth's The Decline, has teamed up with his buddy Nick Diener of The Swellers to deliver his first acoustic solo release, 'The Memories Last.' Five songs of melodic and emotional acoustic punk that emphasise Cribb's smooth vocal abilities and honest lyrics.

Opening track 'The Fall' relies on these solid vocals in their long phrases to drive the track. The simple four chord backing really just offers a canvas for the harmonies and a guitar solo for good measure. The EP's stand out track 'It Never Ends' brings in a few of the punk rock influences with its faster pace and raises the vocal harmony bar.

The piano lines seep in on 'I Think I'm Still Drunk' offering a nice dynamic to the otherwise same sounding acoustic guitars and give the song a light, almost pop feel. This is brought back down by the slightly grittier guitars of 'Part One', a swaying ballad that takes its cues from a Frank Turner pub anthem and has the guitar and vocal lines working beautifully in tandem.

The EP's closing number 'Drover's Track' strips everything back down to just acoustic guitar and vocals for its beginning and slowly builds into a beat. While by this point a formula is established and rarely deviated from, five tracks isn't enough to get sick of.

Diener contributed bass, guitar, backing vocals and piano to the EP, meaning that song writing aside, he had as much, if not more, to do with the performance as Cribb. Mixed and mastered by Mark Michalik (The Wonder Years, Fireworks) in Chicago, the sound stays true to the recording style of this scene, clear enough to understand, yet gritty enough to still be real.

Dan Cribb has shot straight down the line with his first solo EP, keeping things relatively simple and honest, and opting to play on his strengths. 'The Memories Last' is exactly what happens when a punk rocker picks up an acoustic guitar and decides to bare a little soul.

1. The Fall

2. It Never Ends

3. I Think I'm Still Drunk

4. Part One

5. Drover's Track