Cast your mind back, if you're old enough, pre-9/11, to a more innocent time. A time when man's main concern was for aeroplanes falling like bricks from the sky and CD players self-destructing come the stroke of Y2K. Back then, arguably the most interesting band around consisted of a woman in a bunny costume and a 17-year-old boy dressed as Robin Hood.
They wrote songs about downloading porn (on dial-up, natch) and, in a fit of spooky prescience, New York being a graveyard. This was my band; they should've been your band too. They were The Moldy Peaches and, unfortunately, they kind of split up.
That was then; this is now. Adam Green (for it was he) has evolved from potty-mouthed adolescent into a neo-Gainsbourg lounge lizard, admittedly while still clutching on to a raft of dick jokes. But wither Kimya Dawson? Thankfully, between settling into a life of marriage, kids and near-constant touring, Dawson has released a slew of solo records of which 'Remember That I Love You' is her fifth.
She may be best known for such pithy post-modern cultural sideswipes as "Who's Got The Crack" but, for all its jollity and jaunty melody, Remember That I Love You is a surprisingly sombre record. Touching on a range of issues, from her mother's declining health to her own fitness as a mother, Kimya seems drawn to the big themes: death, disease and one person's relative insignificance in the world.
All of which may sound incredibly pretentious on paper, but, when delivered in Dawson's faltering vocals, what could easily stray into cloying sentimentality is strangely affecting. But don't get the wrong idea; Remember That I Love You is by no means a depressing or tuneless record. In fact, it's so full of hummable pop ditties, you'll be singing along to lyrics like "My mom's sick, she's in a hospital bed" long before you begin questioning whether it's wholly appropriate.
You may have missed out first time around, but don't make the same mistake again; Remember That I Love You proves that Kimya Dawson's still a peach.
Article comments
1 - Aaron Fleming
I've never heard of this lady, but it surely sounds great from your words. And, after a quick Google Image search, what great hair! Was she in The Melvins too incidentally?
2 - Greg Smyth
Aye, that's some 'fro she's rockin'. Cheers, Sir Fleming.