Kelsey Reckling
If cult bands like White Fang, Free Weed, Heaven The Dude, and Unkle Funkle mean anything to you then you'll already be on board with The Memories. Having first formed in Portland in 2010, when Los Angeles-based artist Rikky "Free Weed" Gage recruited longtime friends Izak Arida, Chris "Unkle Funkle" Uehlein, Jimmy "Jerry Rogers" Leslie, and Colleen Green united, the loosely-knit collective has explored bedroom-pop, stoner rock, and country music across a truly staggering number of DIY releases. A new collection of the band's music will be released in the form of their third album Pickles & Pies, due out May 29 via Axis Mundi Records/Gnar Tapes, with lead single "Second Try" premiering below.
"Second Try" is a nostalgic and whimsical serenade down memory lane that, while initially sounding pessimistic ("worrying about nothing don't interest me much," bassist Izak Arida sings at one point) is actually about looking back at having reached the goals you set yourself as an wide-eyed teenager.
Speaking to The FADER via email, Arida explained his thinking behind the song. "I wrote 'Second Try' around the time I turned 30 and at its heart it is a song about reminiscing and nostalgia," he said. "On the surface, it may seem the the lyrics elude to feelings of regret or disappointment but I was feeling quite the opposite at the time I was working on lyrical ideas. Spending my twenties touring the world would have been a far off fantasy had you told a teenage me that’s what I’d be doing with my life. So in the song, when I pose the question, 'Would you do what you used to the second time?' I am really talking to myself and I would definitely respond yes."
Check out "Second Try" below.