EP Review: Memory Engine – Memory Engine

Published On: February 11th, 2026|

Joshua Kramer and Gwendolyn Gudaitis – Memory Engine – channel the spirit of the Pacific Northwest on their three-song self-titled EP.

The Vancouver/Washington duo’s EP opener, Lady Aqiba, has a 90s Seattle attitude to it, raw guitars that are crunchy but easy on the reverb. They are allied to a building momentum arrangement that nods towards grunge, but with the lead vocals of Gudaitis bridging rock and folk with ease. Kramer’s vocals shadow those of Gudaitis, dark guiding the light, a wonderfully emotive contrast. I wonder if the emerging UK folk-rock scene of the 70s was an influence here.

On Dear Dismay, Memory Engine put folk flavours at the centre of the track; delicious harmonies and a cascading mandolin looking back beyond the early 00s indie-folk scene to the more traditional blending of folk and rock. It also allows Gudaitis to highlight the similarities her vocal style has to Sarah McLachlan and Natalie Merchant, expressive and emotive while very self-contained.

That continues on the more down-home blending of folk, country, and rock that is Across the Cuff, but Kramer and Gudaitis look beyond the normal tempo and structures of those genres on a song that is subtly experimental.

Over its three tracks, Memory Engine covers a lot of ground, but with such great songwriting and the deft way the duo forms their own sound from such comparatively diverse influences, it is a quiet triumph.