AllMusic Review by Peter J. D'Angelo
This 15-track discography of the mighty Merel features all of their recordings made during their existence from 1990-1994. Featuring a rhythm section who went on to help form New Jersey's brilliant Rye Coalition, Merel plays chaotic, abrasive, and quite loud experimental hardcore that separates itself from the norm with its unlikely musical creativity. Fierce vocals lead the way, and they are actually relatively understandable while still being quite aggressively screamed. The band toys with both straight-ahead hardcore and a much more explosive style comparable to a completely untamed Rye Coalition. The experimental tracks are culled mostly from the band's only full-length, while the earlier recordings show the more untamed but straightforward approach. Most of the material is extremely effective, but the eight tracks from the LP are what make this disc really worthwhile. Merel develops their hardcore with no boundaries, and wailing guitars along with unrestrained song structures push the music toward increasingly effective results. There are a few moments of purely forgettable and normally structured heavy tunes on the record, but the group knows where to add in a few extra touches that rescue tracks and in fact make them very noticeable. All in all, this record is a fitting memorial to a promising if not-so-well-known group, and their bearing on the music later made in Rye Coalition alone makes it a worthwhile disc.
Tracklist
| 1 | Lint For Brains | 4:20 |
| 2 | So Lovely Warmth | 2:22 |
| 3 | Rusty Fish Dead Pipes | 1:41 |
| 4 | Poolside And Potbellied | 3:00 |
| 5 | Waiting For A Fist Fight First | 3:12 |
| 6 | Cock Diesel | 3:01 |
| 7 | Bile (The Golden Years) | 1:43 |
| 8 | Pinatubo Said You Out | 4:25 |
| 9 | NewfoundSnideRemark | 1:15 |
| 10 | Play. Dead. | 4:04 |
| 11 | My Sweet Dull God | 2:05 |
| 12 | Shivers Thru A Loophole | 1:25 |
| 13 | The Weathering | 2:28 |
| 14 | Roadkill | 3:53 |
| 15 | The Guest | 5:00 |
No comments:
Post a Comment