‘None stole my heart, But there’s still been a theft, Asked not to jump, But I’ve already leapt’ (In Lieu Of Flowers)

Hailing from Bellingham, Washington, MEM//BRANE were active from 2023-2025 and bow out with their self-titled full-length.  They were fierce advocates of trans rights, and the album provides a harrowing insight into the traumas and insecurity being inflicted on marginalised communities amid the authoritarian turn currently engulfing the US.

MEM//BRANE meld driving d-beat, cymbal awash rhythms with ferocious metallic crust riffage.  They instinctually segue from doom laden reflection to squalling solos through baleful breakdowns.  However, the very heart of their sound lies in the band’s iron grip on their remorseless groove. The unvarnished ferocity of What You Have Smeared On The World, the melancholy braided In Lieu Of Flowers, and the surging fury of (sirens approaching) are personal stand outs amid the unforgiving barrage.

The album’s bark meets roar, death metal inclined vocals delve into the loneliness, abandonment, and depression that can stalk the lives of those struggling to find equilibrium in an unforgiving world, while trenchantly confronting the political opportunists who are currently fuelling social intolerance and violence for their own grasping needs, ‘the thieves of peace’ (The Sheer Veil Of Fascism).