Meredith’s self-titled EP earned comparisons here on SonicAbuse to Deus and Fugazi with their beautifully ragged sonic assault. Now back with a second EP, the similarly raw ‘the shape of things to come’ it would seem that we can add Sebadoh and Motorhead to the band’s list of influences. Tough, gritty and with plenty of attitude, ‘the shape of things to come’ is the sound of the band experimenting with a wider range of influences and taking great joy in exceeding almost every aspect of their first disc.
Opening with the title track, the sound is initially pared back indie with more than a hint of Lou Barlow about it before a riff comes slamming in from out of nowhere sending the track in a far grittier direction than might be expected. The sound is still that of a veteran band recording through a beer soaked mixing desk, all fizzing guitar riffs and washed out percussion whilst the vocals suggest that a good deal of whiskey was consumed during the recording. Heavy, with a sweet groove to it, this is music best served in the live environment with a healthy dose of beer, but thanks to the beefy yet honest production, this EP is the next best thing. ‘Let’s say’ opens on a similarly simplified riff, the gnarled, bluesy riff rapidly mutating into a monstrous stoner groove that sounds like the White Stripes covering Queens of the stone age and Nirvana all at once. Opening on a faster pace is the slacker lo-fi of ‘Lou’ which heads into pure Sebadoh territory with its gritty riffs and post punk vocals perched tremulously over the top. It’s got a furious, white hot ending which sees the song bleed out in a haze of feedback and tortured guitars, only for the instrumental ‘wearemeradith’ to pick up the pace with a taut Mclusky-esque riff that shows that no matter how off-the-wall Meredith might get they’re never afraid to rock out when the mood takes them. The final track (and it arrives far too quickly) is named ‘sober’ and it strikes a serious pose, the music somewhere between folk and the slow-core beauty of Low. It’s an immensely satisfying way to close the record and it leaves the listener wanting much more, suggesting that it’s time for Meredith to start planning a full-length release. As the music lugubriously heads towards a searing climax you can’t help but be caught up in the energetic release of a full-blooded rock ‘n’ roll band banishing their demons using the power of the almighty riff and you can’t fail to be impressed by the subtle way the song builds to such an explosive finale.
If, as we felt at the time, the first Meredith EP showed great promise of things to come this second EP effortlessly redeems that promise. The songs are tightly constructed and executed with a callous abandon that offers up a raw, thrillingly honest sound. The production perfectly captures the band’s untameable spirit and the influences are slightly less to the fore, the band having truly found their sound this time out. If you dig honest, passionate rock ‘n’ roll delivered with the energy of Kurt Cobain, the punk/art spirit of Sonic Youth and Fugazi and with the romantic soul of Sebadoh and Low, then this brilliant, distressingly short EP is for you.
