Album Review: Merchandise - Totale Nite

In a similar fashion to last year's lahighly-praised album Children Of Desire, Totale Nite by Florida quartet Merchandise (formerly a trio and, at one point, a duo) is only a mere five songs in length. Running for a duration of scarcely over 30 minutes, it could be classed as an EP, but has been passed off as a full-length album, with no song at a length of less than five minutes (save for the album's opener Who Are You?). This is quite possibly the only similarity between Totale Nite and the preceding album; Merchandise have steered even further away from their distinguishable similarities to The Jesus & Mary Chain and Joy Division and, although these post-punk influences remain strong in their sound, they've begun to establish a sound of their own – one that isn't quite so easy to categorise.

When you deconstruct Totale Nite, it doesn't appear overly complicated in the slightest. In an '80s goth fashion, the slightly reverberated drumbeats are often evenly paced and simple, sounding consistently and mostly unchanged beneath a layer of continuous soft-synth swirls and cautiously executed guitar parts. Merchandise have carefully pieced these elements together, and even the more sparse middle track I'll Be Gone carries a richness that is bafflingly complex.

It's so easy for bands of the post-punk persuasion to fall into the trap of sounding same-ish, but Totale Nite sees Merchandise rise above the hefty handful of Joy Division copy-cats and proudly exemplify themselves as being their own brilliant creation.