Kiefer Shackleford is a 34 year old pianist & producer from Los Angeles, California who properly introduced himself nearly a decade earlier off his full-length studio debut Kickin’ It Alone & the sophomore effort Happysad respectively. When There’s Love Around as well as It’s Ok, B U & Something Real would all follow to similar reception but coming off FATHERS’ eponymous debut a couple months ago, Kiefer’s signing to the great jazz label of all-time Blue Note Records for his 6th studio LP.
“Daydreaming” by Cisco Swank & Relyae opens up with both of them lusciously singing about a romantic fantasy with CARRTOONS playing bass & Luke Titus handling drums whereas “Nowhere Fast” by Rae Khalil takes a funkier approach refusing to give up her heart that she’s keeping safe. “Overture” hits us with the first actual compositional piece playing keys with Nate Smith on the drums & Shibo on bass giving heavy instrumental hip hop vibes for a few minutes until “NewLevels NewDevils” by Erick the Architect & Tony Stone goes full-blown jazz rap.
Relyae takes the microphone once again during “Get to the Moon” except Amber Navran’s accompanying her for this glamorous R&B duet letting CARRTOONS play bass once more leading into the title track enlisting tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, guitarist Flanafi & bassist Shibo to make the core of Memory Bomb amongst it’s most exquisite moments. “Entr’acte” feels like more of an 89 second interlude to end the 1st half that could play in the middle of an [adult swim] bumper while “BusyForYa” by Planet Giza sings about not having time for this individual.
“Won’t Be Long” by Amber Navran & Phil Beaudreau with Shibo playing the synthesizers & bass depicting a couple assuring each other that none of them are ungrateful for the lessons learned preceding a breakup while “Don’t Fail Me Now” pulls inspiration from instrumental hip hop again, letting CARRTOONS program the drums behind these synths. “Can’t Let a Good Thing Go” by Gareth Donkin sings about refusing to move past something in life going correctly & after the exuberant “As She Was”, the closing track “I Let My Hair Grow” ends Memory Bomb handling all the instruments by himself.
Known for honing his own style that he refers to as “Over the Breaks”, the FATHERS album made me even more interested in what Kiefer Shackleford was artistically capable of doing from an individual standpoint & would say Memory Bomb joins DOMi & JD Beck’s recent sophomore effort WHO ASKED? in being one of Blue Note’s more average releases on 2026. His distinctive blend of jazz improvisation & hip hop production more richly textured than his earlier output regardless of the guest vocalists being a mixed bag.
Score: 3/5
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