Imagine a Ben
Gibbard-like voice singing with an energetic pop rock band and you’ll have
something close to Meridene. Written in the home of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) in
Northern Wisconsin, this band out of Eau Claire just released its sophomore
album Something Like Blood.
Similar in sound
to their debut album You’re Not Pretty,
You’re Worse, this album is an assortment of catchy, pop rock songs
(“Parade of Fools”) and cleverly arranged and written tracks (“Something Like
Blood,” “A Man of Faith, A Man of Fact”). But their second release has a social
commentary aspect woven into the songs that sets it apart from their first
effort. The album opener “Everyone’s Waiting,” along with, “Juliet, They’ll Eat
Us Alive” skillfully integrate and connect aspects of the suffering economy
with personal experiences. The former talks about the tiring monotony of a 9 to
5 job and the need to settle “on an even smaller bite.” The latter compares the
greedy decisions of businessmen to the greedy hands of lust, which bring about
a literal and emotional bankruptcy respectively.
Despite the
catchy quality of some of the songs, the lyrics of each song are connected by
themes of cynicism, loss, and mistrust. These lyrical themes do a fairly good
job of capturing the anger and mistrust of contemporary society. At times the
lyrics get a bit corny, as on “The Truth The Dead Know (Come On! Come On!),” in
which the chorus of “come on’s!” begins to sound silly by the last time the
chorus rolls around. However, the
clever outweighs the corny on most of the tracks.
In the title
track, lead singer Trevor Carl Ives uses the metaphor of a shipwreck to
describe someone going through a rough patch in life, or perhaps even death.
Whatever the true meaning, the drum roll rhythm, flowing vocals and chords, and
extended outro of buoyant guitar beautifully convey a scene of rolling waves
and a ship bobbing up and down with them. This fluid arrangement also reflects
the lyrical description of blood as everyone’s livelihood, “Red and hot/As life
does surely flow.” Nautically themed “Something Like Blood” smoothly swells
into the energetic “Gone, Baby Gone,” a catchy tune about loss and unfulfilled
desires.
Although
approachable songs like “Gone, Baby Gone” are great to listen to, it is the
clever musical arrangement and lyrics of other songs that give Something Like Blood its value. The
songs that mesh lyrical tone and content with the appropriate sound are the
ones that stand out. Prime examples of this are the aforementioned title track
and the closing track, “A Man of Faith, A Man of Fact.” Ives’ voice floats over
an eerie organ sound that fits perfectly with the dark theme of a song about
death and what’s to come. As the title states, there are hints of faith when
the drums come in. But then the drums cut out and the same eerie organ chord
plays as Ives ends the song with a blunt statement of fact: “Nothing is certain
in this world today.” Then distorted guitar and horns round out the
instrumentally bare song in a loud conclusion that pays tribute to the heavy
topic of the track.
Meridene’s
second effort is a solid collection of accessible songs and intelligent
arrangements. If the young band maintains this mix, perhaps with a bit more
focus on the latter, they will set themselves apart from other catchy pop rock
bands and possibly make a name for themselves.
3.5 stars