Electric Youth, Memory Emotion

Since breaking through on the soundtrack to the 2011 film Drive, where their “A Real Hero” scored pivotal scenes, Electric Youth haven’t slowed down. After releasing their 2014 debut, Innerworld—which Exclaim called “a thrilling listen”—the Canadian duo spent the subsequent years scoring films (one of which became their 2017 album Breathing) and collaborating with the likes of Gesaffelstein and Ryuichi Sakamoto. But now they can finally announce their second official full-length, Memory Emotion (August 9, Last Gang Records).

Memory Emotion features 11 songs that play as a yang to Innerworld’s ying. Where the debut had an inward focus and the immersive atmospherics of a headphones album, Memory Emotion looks outward. 

“It is very much externally inspired from our lives, the lives of people around us, from everything that’s going on in the world,” says multi-instrumentalist Austin Garrick, who forms Electric Youth with vocalist Bronwyn Griffin. The pair met in middle school and have been together ever since. “There really is a strong link between music and memory and emotion, and ‘Memory Emotion’ is what we came up with for that link.” 

Central to that link is “DHM,” short for “deeper hidden moments,” which Electric Youth espoused after reading about them Nile Rodgers’ memoir, Le Freak.

“We have this thing where we’re listening to a song that we’ve created, and there’s a certain chord that hits, or a certain melody, or some lyrics, and it just gives you this reaction, almost like a physical reaction,” Griffin explains. “I’ll take my hand and tap my heart, and that to us is the feeling we consider DHM, and that’s what we’re always trying to connect with on every song.”

Those feelings fuel Memory Emotion, from the nervous energy of lead single “The Life” to the aftermath of California wildfires in “ARAWA” (short for “As Restless As We Are”). Electric Youth fine-tuned Innerworld during drives along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway outside Los Angeles, but when they returned for Memory Emotion, they experienced firsthand the devastation left by the fires. “Everything was black,” Griffin says. “It was not easy to explain really, but it was someplace that was so beautiful, and when we wrote that song, that was definitely an inspiration.”

While Garrick cites “Evergreen 143” as another song that evokes the PCH, he notes the group had different ambitions for Memory Emotion than its predecessor. “One of our goals for this record was to create something that was quite a bit more environmentally versatile than Innerworld,” he says. “In the sense that Innerworld is at its best if you are driving down the PCH or alone with headphones. We wanted to create something with Memory Emotion where songs stand on their own in more situations.”

The album also shows the breadth of Electric Youth’s sound, which some reviewers have associated with the nostalgic pastiche of ’80s revivalism. That never interested the duo, even though they share a moniker with a blockbuster ’80s pop album. 

“When we googled the name when we were going to use it, that’s when we discovered Debbie Gibson and Electric Youth. I don’t know—maybe it wasn’t a thing in Canada!” Garrick says, laughing. “Our mind is always on doing what we can to create records that don’t have a ‘sell by' date, that aren’t just for the moment. Because when that trend dies, a lot of that stuff dies with it.”

“We have the intention to create our music with so much heart and honesty,” Griffin adds. “Along with the technical side of things and equipment we use, we try really hard to have sounds with texture and feeling and quality. I think, all in all, that stuff really does help the music speak for itself.”

Electric Youth’s scoring work has expanded those textures and feelings, as working on films has introduced them sounds they wouldn’t have otherwise known or used. It’s also helped broaden their whole approach to songwriting.

“Spending so much time thinking about music without being confined by the idea of ‘We need a verse, and we need a chorus’ got us to a point where it’s easier for us to be less inhibited in the studio and more comfortable taking chances,” Garrick says. Scoring has also given them an outlet for their less structured, more experimental side. “It allows us to get that out of our systems so that by the time we’re working on a studio album, we can really laser our focus on the songs.” 

Memory Emotion is focused, but expansive, atmospheric, but heartfelt. It’s also one of the best albums you’ll hear this year.

Memory Emotion will be released August 9. It is self-produced by Electric Youth, with mixing on lead single “The Life” by Peter Mayes.