The band Mermaidens come from New Zealand and they're on Flying Nun but that's where similarities to earlier legends of Kiwi rock begin and end. I mean, there's nothing here on Look Me in the Eye, out in the U.S. on Friday via the seminal label, that sounds like The Chills or even The Verlaines, but that's okay. What's here is the product of life-long friends Gussie Larkin (guitar/co-lead vocals), Lily West (bass/co-lead vocals), and Abe Hollingsworth (drums) and the tunes are full of youthful exuberance and wise understanding in equal measure.
"Crying in the Office" is a bit morose and a bit spare, but "Millennia" is a good deal brighter, flashes of New Order peeking through the track's rhythmic underpinning. Elsewhere, "I Might Disappear" positively soars, a sleek keyboard riff anchoring this tune under the vocals of Larkin and West, vocals which recall a tiny bit those of Florence Jenkins, I guess. Still, that's an easy comparison point for something that sounds refreshingly poppy and expertly constructed. That number, like "She's Running", reveals that the real strengths of Mermaidens are ones that are more readily apparent in the uptempo compositions on Look Me in the Eye. Which is not to say that the slower numbers here, like "Best to Hate the Man", don't charm but, rather, that the more spry offerings, like closer "Priorities". more easily dive right into a listener's heart.
Look Me in the Eye drops on Flying Nun on Friday.
More details on Mermaidens via the band's official Facebook page, or via the band's official website.
[Photo: Steven Acres]