Hello and welcome back, yes I know it’s been a long time since you all have heard from me, but we’ve been making some changes over here at Crafted Sounds HQ. The focus groups, polling data, and, especially, our corporate sponsors have spoken and I’d like to welcome you all to the new Crafted Sounds Cooking Network.
As your CSCN host I must disclose that anything concocted here may or may not be edible but the only way to know for sure is by signing a “couple” of papers to ensure your own safety…..yeah sure, your own safety.
Today we’re going to make Merger Chili, and boy howdy is it going to be dangerous, and delicious. So what are we looking at for our directions? Well it’s about one cup of diced garage rock looseness, three-quarters cup of post-punk potpourri, some grated bass-line funk, a quart of essence of Fugazi, and finally a hint of Slint. Then we’re gonna let that simmer in a nice pot above a campfire that’s near a couple sticks of dynamite whose wicks mayyyyy be to close to the fire if a couple embers decide to travel a little too far from the nest. Smell that?
God damn, that’s some fine chili.
Merger are a four piece collaborative post-punk powerhouse hailing from Wilmington, Delaware and their first record, released through Impetus Records, is a barnburnin’ rootin’ tootin’ truckload of music. The group has been making waves for the past 3 years of their existence but this record is the starting gun to the race they’re absolutely about to win. Merger have crafted six songs of entropic energy that have had me coming back to it constantly discovering new ways to get excited about these songs. Consisting of Diego Romero-Asos (Guitar, Vocals), Eli Gordy-Sith (Bass, Vocals), Shane Spencer (Drums), Ryan Yoder (Guitar), Merger are able to create a world of composed chaos. Through my umpteenth listen I still find myself getting tense when listening to these tracks because I never know if the ground beneath my feet is going to collapse as I’m running on it, I’m going to fly into the sun, or I’ll just keep moving. Merger have created a sonic environment which always sounds collected while also hinting at any second it’s going to collapse in upon itself.
The back and forth between the hard hitting and absolutely sporadic drums and the funk-punk boogie of the bass lends itself to keep the listeners off guard, and then when both guitars come into the fold, everything comes together. As some will hear when they go through this record the vocal delivery on a track or two do have some similarities to Fugazi, but to write them off as a copycat instead of a beautiful homage, would be, in my opinion, lazy and dismissive. The vocals arrive with such energy and pacing with the instrumentation that they refuse to be ignored. “Debris”, the first track, is a great example of Merger laying out their message and giving us an idea of exactly how they’re going to kick our ears’ asses. Starting out essentially giving each musician a curtain introduction before slamming into the tune and then finally by the end leaving us fully certain the earth is going to crack and fall apart. By the time we reach “Doubletime” our adrenal glands have been shot by this track-meet of an EP but this song is exactly what you need to get back into it, starting off fast as hell, leading into a funk-step bass and drum half-time fallout and then the vocals, beckoning to you until the build where the noise comes together, get my biggest HELL YEAH.
This is your host signing off from the CSCN, don’t forget to buy cornbread to pair with this chili or have a glass of milk after, cause if not your tongue will burn off from the excruciating heat.
RIYL: Fugazi, The Stooges, Sleater Kinney, “Hey man I dare you to throw this beer bottle at the bank?...How about a molotov instead?”, Going for a run in a hurricane
Fav Tracks: "Nautical Song", "Sleepwalker", "Doubletime"
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