Piano Prince, aka Coco Schwarz, who uses they/she pronouns, has a fascination for things that don’t quite fit in a singular category or box, ie to be pigeonholed. Perhaps partially something to attribute to their own gender identification, they see the beauty and the intrigue in the ambiguity of the world, the things that fall out of simple classification and obvious categorisation. ‘Memory Lane’ is a project that tries to traverse these lines of ambiguity, both in its own eclecticism of sound and also in the emotional core that the instrumental record really evokes. The piano driven project is innately so blissful and calming, a kind of sensation that somehow manages to both have you sedated and soothed while also being possible to rouse and inspire you.
The nine track record flows seamlessly from one into the other. With the rather quirky and bouncy opening Prologue setting the mood in a rather sparkly place in its less than two minute runtime. Songs like ‘Soaring’ bring out the more rousing elements of the record, a much larger scale to it all. I found myself most compelled and hitting replay most often on the pieces that were lengthier, that felt almost like a progressive track. ‘Craving You’ and ‘Into The Abyss’ feel like Piano Prince hitting their stride and zone with pinpoint precision.
Front and centre however, this record is all about the piano. Fans of the instrument will relish the experimentation on this record, the unique playing style that Piano Prince deploys, and the rather dreamy and atmospheric nature of the record as a whole. It’s serene to a fault and blissful throughout.