“Close to the ocean go down slow. Hold yourself under we’ll grow grow together” these are the lyrics to “Ocean O” by the Mermaidens off their EP O. The vocals combined with the lyrics makes for a seductive and eerie listen much like the mermaids siren song. Which is fitting for a band called the Mermaidens.
The band hails from Wellington, New Zealand which is New Zealand’s second most populous urban area. The band brings together the three-person trio of Lily West (co-lead vocals, guitar), Abe Hollingsworth (Drums) and Gussie Larkin (vocals, guitar)
The Mermaidens take influence from the Psychedelic Pop of the 60s which is heard in their vocal style and trippy guitar riffs. The Mermaidens though have taken this dreamy style and added a darker tinge reminiscent of an industrial sound. These elements combined serve to give the band their haunting and seductive sound. The songs could most definitely be imagined as the closing credits to an episode of “True Detective”.
The songs bring their listener to a dream-like state though not bright and colorful ones, but dark vivid dreams ones that you don’t want to look away from. One fan in a blurb about their EP “O” puts it like this “To me, they are especially good when I am playing the Binding of Isaac.” to those unfamiliar the Binding of Issac is an indie rougelike inspired by the biblical story of Issac. The game starts a child name Issac and has the player face dark themes such as neglect, suicide, child abuse and others.
O is the band latest release from June 2014. Consisting of three tracks the cost of the EP is "name your price" allowing for listeners to name their own price from $0 to whatever amount their heart desires to pay for the album.
The first track titled “Wander” and runs 05:01. This song starts off fairly light in its riffs and drum beats before progressively getting darker in its tone in the middle of the track. It’s a catchy song and a serviceable one, but not my favorite.
The second track titled “Cold Skin and runs again 05:01. This song starts eerie right off the bat with a dark moody riff. The accompanying lyrics build on the moodiness of the instrumental “Who are you, why are you messing with mind?” While I felt the last track was by no means a bad track it dragged on for me and didn’t showcase the band’s uniqueness like this one.
The last track on this three track EP is the aforementioned “Ocean O” running the shortest length at 02:10. If it wasn’t already obvious this is the pinnacle of this EP for me and my favorite track. The riffs here are subtly creating a chilling atmosphere. As mentioned previously the vocals are seductively haunting. Every time I listen to this track I can’t help, but picture a mermaid luring someone with her song and leaving them at the bottom of the ocean.
Check them out on bandcamp.com
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