Made up of Ryan Needham and Liza Violet, Menace Beach are an indie rock  band from Leeds, and they’re back with a brand new album.

Lemon Memory is the sound of a band finding their own identity and this album is very different from their first release, Ratworld.

Ratworld was Ryan’s record, and it was filled with his inspirations from the 90s. Although predominantly indie, Lemon Memory also has strange blends of motorik – with their latest (epically catchy) single ‘Suck It Out’ – and psych, which can be heard in the brilliant ‘Get a Haircut’.

‘Give Blood’ is a record highlight, as Liza and Ryan’s vocal dual pairs wonderfully together with the repetitive guitar riffs, making this tune a masterpiece.

The album takes the pace and tone down a notch with tracks like ‘Darlatroid’  – lyrically sad and slow with the spider-leg guitar lines, and ‘Owl’, a simple yet characteristic tune with Violet’s vocals reaching new heights.

Lemon Memory is a strong and hypnotising record, with Liza and Ryan’s songwriting styles clashing perfectly to achieve new levels of creativity. This album is very much Violet’s record. Ryan welcomed that, explaining “Liza got that look in the eye and a head-down-blinkers-on thing, and only a moron would try and get in the way of that. It’s all about keeping those ideas in their purest form and diluting as little as possible.”

Lemon Memory is out now. And you can catch Menace Beach in the middle of their full UK tour this February, and if you’re in the states anytime soon, they’re also playing at SXSW in March.

14 Feb – Glasgow, Broadcast
15 Feb – Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s
16 Feb – Newcastle, The Cluny
17 Feb – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
14-19 Mar – Austin, TX – SXSW

 

Melody Johns
@melody_johns