''No Memory'' is the debut studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band No. 2, released in 1999 by record label

Chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable handheld power saw, power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as t ...

Content

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, whe ...

, No. 2 frontman

Neil Gust Heatmiser was an American rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in October 1991. Consisting of Elliott Smith (guitar and vocals), Neil Gust (guitar and vocals), Brandt Peterson (bass; later replaced by Sam Coomes, frontman of Quasi) and Tony ...

's former Heatmiser bandmate, performs backing vocals on "Critical Mass" as well as mixing on most of the album.

Release

''No Memory'' was released in 1999 by record label Chainsaw. The album was remastered and reissued on 180-gram vinyl on Record Store Day 2015 by Jackpot Records. The reissue, limited to 1500 copies, features previously-unheard bonus tracks.

Reception

Ron Hart of ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'' called it "a more realised version of the Apple/Dischord Records hybrid once orchestrated by, well, Heatmiser. But the No. 2's debut achieves its own gorgeous, pitch-perfect balance between acoustic

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

-ish harmonies and a post-

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

punch, as it sways with all the candor of Gust's old band. ..The half-hour ''No Memory'' may be short on time, but it's endless on soul."

Track listing

# "Critical Mass" – 3:07 # "Never Felt Better" – 2:48 # "Move It Along" – 3:33 # "So Long" – 2:48 # "Just Answer the Man" – 4:18 # "Pop in C" – 2:48 # "Practicing Your Moves" – 3:01 # "Pop in A Minor" – 2:25 # "Nobody's Satisfied" – 2:29 # "Parting Kiss" – 2:57

Bonus tracks on 2015 reissue

# Allistair Chestnut (Harmony Mix) # Powder Blue # Run Through # Little Face # Critical Mass (Demo) # Never Felt Better (Demo) # Practicing Your Moves (Demo) # Parting Kiss (Demo)

Personnel

– vocals, guitar, keyboards * Gilly Ann Hanner – backing vocals, bass guitar * Paul Pulvirenti – drums, percussion ; Additional personnel * Joanna Bolme – hand claps on "Critical Mass",

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Sam Coomes Samuel J. Coomes (born April 23, 1964) is an American musician, and one half of the indie band Quasi, along with his ex-wife, drummer Janet Weiss. Coomes was also a member of the mid-1980s underground pop band The Donner Party and replaced Brand ...

– bass guitar on "Never Felt Better" and "Nobody's Satisfied", backing vocals on "So Long" * Stef Darensbourg – hand claps on "Critical Mass" *

Tony Lash Tony Lash is an American musician and music producer, most notable as a founding member of Heatmiser as the band's drummer. He played with Elliott Smith, in the high school band. Lash played the flute; Smith, the clarinet. He played drums in Sm ...

– electric piano (on "Never Felt Better"), engineering *

– backing vocals on "Critical Mass", "So Long" and last four bonus tracks, mixing ; Technical * Larry Crane – engineering, mixing

References

External links

Pitchfork article on the album

Spin article on the album

1999 albums {{1990s-indie-rock-album-stub