I’m not going to say that “Do You Remember Anything?” is a sonic departure for Fendahlene, but only because they have always been hard to pin down on the musical map…which is, of course, how it should be. I’ve only known the band over the course of two previous singles, but if “Where I’m Going” had a folky, acoustic drive and “Silent Treatment” ran on more of a classic rock and roll sound, this new one heads off down a third musical path.
Flavored with some fascinating blends of modern indie finesse and classic New Wave frisson, not to mention an echo of a more dubby skanking groove, it certainly isn’t the sound of a band playing to the gallery. Any band offering three sonic serving suggestions over the same amount of singles is a band more interested in adventure and exploration than comfort zones and conformity.
The song speaks to issues such as the political and social entrenchment of ideas, popularism, self-serving and self-aggrandizing leaders, speaking truth to power and downright lies. But as Fendahlene is smart enough never to take a specific position on the political radar, the song remains all things to all people, a general warning to question everything, check the facts, not be taken in by rhetoric, and formulate your own thoughts and ideas.
We should never have lost the ability to think for ourselves, and “Do You Remember Anything?” is a perfect and pleasing sonic reminder to do so. And quite right, too.
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