Vivian Girls - Memory
Critic Score
Based on 15 reviews
2019 Ratings: #379 / 805
User Score
Based on 107 ratings
2019 Rank: #587
September 20, 2019 / Release Date
LP / Format
Polyvinyl / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

80
Tiny Mix Tapes

2019’s Memory — perhaps underselling itself with its title — makes an airtight case for Vivian Girls as something greater than the reminder of a bygone scene.

80
AllMusic

Memory isn't just their best record, it makes good on all the promise they displayed early on and will hopefully shut their critics up once and for all.

80
No Ripcord

Memory circles back to their formative period with a wiser, more complex vision of their past.

80
Under the Radar

More specifically reflective than anything in their past, this is the work of women in their 30s who refuse to be defined by their past, but who haven't forgotten their roots, either.

80
DIY

‘Memory’, is music for the love of it, and unabashedly so. You suspect it was every bit as much an unforeseen gift to Vivian Girls as it is to us.

80
Rolling Stone

The most enjoyable and heartening element here is the fun of witnessing people making music together again years after it seemed like they might’ve been robbed of that experience by forces they fought but couldn’t stop.

80
Northern Transmissions

With Memory they have crafted a blisteringly strong, hook filled statement.

75
Consequence of Sound

Some reunions suck; others are a relief simply because they’re not embarrassing. Vivian Girls have defied the odds by reuniting for their best album yet.

73
Pitchfork

On their first new album since 2011, Vivian Girls jump back into fried guitar, loose percussion, and fast and easy repetition, as if they’d simply woken up from an eight-year nap.

73
Paste

While this may not be their magnum opus, and they aren’t reinventing the wheel—or even trying to—Vivian Girls keep us wanting more than just a Memory, but a bright future full of raucous tunes.

70
Exclaim!

Memory doesn't break any new ground for Vivian Girls, but it's not trying to, either, making for a welcome throwback to the glory days of shitgaze.

60
The Needle Drop

Vivian Girls' first album in almost a decade is their most abrasive yet.

WhatTheFunk
NR

From the late 2000s to the early 2010, the Brooklyn-based women's trio Vivian Girls had made their debut with three albums, the last of which, released in 2011 and entitled "Share The Joy", was not unanimously accepted. Following this, the band split in 2014 leaving the fans orphaned... until this summer when they announce their reformation. Hallelujah!

Remember: the end of the 2000s coincided with the return of the indie-rock hype. Brooklyn was really cool. Every week there were a ... read more

usedtobe
90

An absolute triumph of a comeback, the newest record from the LA garage rock trio manages to find beauty amidst the noise they crafted with blaring guitar melodies, three part harmonies and sick basslines that merges noise rock and shoegaze into something urgent and beautiful. The fuzz is back and soaked in pinkish haze.

thefinschise199
83

What makes "Memory" work so well isn't a band progressive, trying anything new or doing anything daring.  Remarkably, after years apart Vivian Girls come back with a series of well written, genuinely catchy and charming tunes with just enough guitars and harmonies to stick with you.  

Give A Listen To: "Most of All", "Your Kind of Life", "Sick", "Lonely Girl", "Something to Do", "Memory", "I’m Far ... read more

SonicDiscovery
70

Vivian Girls are an indie rock outfit from Brooklyn, NY that released their celebrated self-titled debut back in 2008 and followed that up with two additional albums before calling it quits in 2014, but then it came as some surprise when they announced they would be coming back this year with a new release. I’m not too familiar with their past catalogue, but giving their newest releases Memory several listens through, I get a pretty good idea of what their sound is all about and I rather ... read more

71

Despite their widely publicized breakup and an eight year gap between albums, Vivian Girls pick up right where they left off on “Memory.” Over the course of those eight years, the indie zeitgeist has moved far away from Vivian Girls’ distinct brand of fuzzy, sun-drenched, lo-fi noise pop. But in a scene far less saturated with this particular subgenre, there’s something invigorating about “Memory.” The band’s breakneck guitar hooks, repetitive lyrics, ... read more

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Added on: July 17, 2019