– A sleek, seduction-focused track with a wobbly synth break.
The opening verse was written on a phone notepad after Andrew Taggart felt intense guilt for missing a close friend's wedding due to their touring schedule.
The album’s title itself is a fascinating paradox. “Memories...Do Not Open” suggests a reluctance to revisit the past, yet the entire record is steeped in nostalgic longing. Lyrically, the project is almost obsessively fixated on fractured relationships, regret, and the haze of post-party emptiness. Songs like “The One” and “Break Up Every Night” explore the cyclical nature of toxic romance, while the lead single “Paris” famously asks, “If we go down, we go down together.” The “memories” in question are not fond ones but rather painful, addictive loops—the musical equivalent of scrolling through an ex’s Instagram at 2 a.m. The command “Do Not Open” feels like a warning to the listener, and perhaps to the band themselves, against examining these emotions too closely.
When "Memories" was released in 2017, it quickly became a hit, topping the charts and cementing The Chainsmokers' status as one of the biggest EDM acts of the time.
The album is designed to be listened to chronologically, moving through themes of strained relationships, the dizzying effects of fame, and youthful regret.