Back with their third EP, Meredith are a wonderfully incongruous and fuzzy rock band who delve deep into the world of lo fi rock drawing comparisons to the likes of Fugazi and early Flaming Lips with their strangely endearing, heavily distorted workouts. Remarkably the band are already on their third EP (simply titled ‘III’) and they continue to impress with their scuzzy yet varied garage rock assault.
A four track EP, ‘III’ starts well with ‘in the cold light of night’, a scuffed and dirty piece of rock music that sounds like a long lost Dinosaur Jr 7” that’s been dragged out of the garage and slammed on the turntable without so much as a basic clean. With a twisty rhythm, gritty vocals and a wall of guitar noise it’s very much Meredith kicking out the jams and a welcome return for the band. ‘All things well considered’ opens with a mighty riff before the verse sets a more thoughtful pace that recalls the final days of Sebadoh with its queasy pop melody, heavy reliance on fuzz pedals and clattering drums. A schizophrenic number with a pop edge, ‘over’ has a grungy feel with its sweetly distorted melody and quiet-loud dynamic. Once again the band mire the song in a production that sounds like it was engineered by Iggy Pop, and the result is a track that matches both melody and angst in equal measure, with the latter stages of the song sounding particularly apocalyptic. The EP ends with ‘the curse of being a fool’, an angular piece of music with a biting riff and pummelling drum beat driving it forward towards a full-bodied chorus. It’s a memorable finale and it’s a sign of the quality control on offer that any one of these tracks could have been the lead song.
Meredith are a band who, back in the mid-90s, would have carved out a successful niche in the underground on a label such as Sub Pop, Touch and Go or C/Z. Sadly it’s becoming harder and harder for niche bands to find an audience now as more and more acts turn to the likes of Bandcamp to offer up their songs for a pittance. It is an increasingly unsustainable state of affairs and Meredith deserve so much more. Their songs speak of countless hours of blood, sweat and tears in the rehearsal room and their releases to date have never failed to impress. It’s hard to say if ‘III’ is better than the band’s impressive debut, as both records offer a similar sonic palette and have a similar sense of a band who are more than capable of walking that fine line between chaotic noise and memorable melody, but if I had to choose, I may well pick ‘III’ as the production is marginally better. Check out Meredith on Bandcamp (via the link below) and you won’t be disappointed.
