Digital Regress / US / 2023
"Over the course of the last decade, Messrs. Russell Walker and Daniel Melchior have collaborated under the guise of THE LLOYD PACK. While much ink has been spilled about their work apart from each other [DAS MENACE, THE PHEROMOANS, countless solo dispatches], their conjoined effort has a bit of a cloaked rep. Perhaps it’s their insistence on bucking genre constraints that thickens the shroud, as their lone commitment lies in coaxing each other’s instincts into wondrous tracks. I Can’t Remember, the latest assemblage of said tracks, imparts bright buzz with a decidedly late-night air. An odd bit of cynical groove runs throughout, all the way to sunrise.
The finest moments of The Lloyd Pack essentially equate Russ and Dan completing each other’s sentences, relating and reacting on equal terms. I Can’t Remember is replete with such moments. Many of the entries begin with simple rhythm programming as bedrock, expanding through all manner of pile- on riffing. The waltzing, madcap “Pagsy” shoves several recognizable tenants of classic UK-DIY pop into the circus tent. The romantic escapism that feeds “The Firs Hotel” eventually concludes as mere routine. “Crossroads Mason Simulator” acts as centerpiece, undeniable with its gorgeous lights-off sound, recalling a lost entry from After The Heat. Every tune offers surprise and something to cling to.
Digital Regress is pleased to present I Can’t Remember, the fifth LP from The Lloyd Pack." - Mitch Cardwell