Merit
Arson Is For Lovers (Self-Released)
Release Date: March 24, 2009
Full Album Download!
1. Cut and Run
2. Fess Up
3. Arson is for Lovers (mp3)
4. Mourning Dove
5. Hold Everything (mp3)
6. Static & Satellites
7. Tour Memoir
8. Blue Bedroom
9. Bring us the Sun
10. Visible
There’s something to be said for an incredibly well-rounded indie rock record – the type of jam that doesn’t necessarily beg for any careful, concentrated attention but nevertheless draws you closer and closer with repeated spins. Bands who craft winning albums like that – Syracuse, New York’s Merit, for example – might not get the credit they rightly deserve, but they’re happy to plug away with solid, enjoyable tunes that have undeniable staying power.
On that note, there’s nothing particularly extreme or singular (unless you consider likability a singular quality) about Merit’s newest full-length, Arson Is For Lovers. It certainly doesn’t rage the hardest and it’s not the most technical or experimental. Although it traverses plenty of emotional highs and lows, you probably wouldn’t toss out words like “heart-wrenching” or “melancholy” during any of the songs. And while these ten enduring tracks are upbeat and markedly catchy, more than likely you won’t see any hipsters at your local dive bar dancing along any time soon.
Where Merit succeeds in truly standing out, however, is in crafting songs that borrow tiny pieces from all those attributes, assembling them all into one charming, diverse and, more importantly, memorable album. The band’s most endearing quality – aside from the undeniably catchy songwriting – is how it skims the edges of many different genres without jamming the music into any one particular category.
Songs like opener “Cut And Run,” “Fess Up” and “Blue Bedroom” lay down a crunchy, kinetic punk foundation while “Hold Everything” and the title track have a charismatic indie / pop rock feel. Slowing things down a bit, “Mourning Dove” and “Bring Us The Sun” inject a touch of sweetness and spacey atmosphere into the mix. Behind it all though is singer Brenna Merit, with a voice that’s spot-on, regardless of the occasion. She’s expressive without being overwrought, tender without sacrificing her toughness, and when she needs to let loose and soar, it all sounds effortless and extremely moving.
Arson Is For Lovers is the kind of record that probably won’t reach the top of your “best of all time” list, but it will still find a comfortable spot in your regular rotation for years to come…and it’s difficult to find any fault with that.
Arson Is For Lovers was engineered and produced by John Naclerio (Polar Bear Club, My Chemical Romance, Brand New, Senses Fail, Fireworks) at Nada Recording Studio. The album will be self-released by the band on March 24th, 2009 and is currently available for free download at www.arsonisforlovers.com. For more information, go to www.gomeritgo.com or www.myspace.com/merit
Press Contact: Chuck Daley / Beartrap PR / chuck@beartrappr.com / (704) 649-7128
