The Top 25 Albums Of 2021 (So Far): Mere Women - 'Romantic Notions'

Every facet of passion and amour is flung under a post punk microscope on the tense yet engaging fourth album Romantic Notions from Sydney’s Mere Women. Gifting the first utterance of new tunes from the quartet since 2017’s highly acclaimed Big Skies, Romantic Notions is still very much a textbook Mere Woman full length; but with significant spikes of sonic evolution underlying the expected crunch and oscillation.

Evolving from the double-edged reality of romance and its oft-unspoken trappings, Romantic Notions doles out a sobering wake up call to the naivete of love and the dangers of losing your metaphorical head in the process. But amongst the discordant riffs, crashing textures and stirring vocal apathy, Mere Women aren’t declaring war on matters of the heart; they’re simply coaxing and prompting exploration into darker and more tangible territories that go hand in hand with love and matters of the heart.

Wielding thunderous restraint and menaced arrangements, Romantic Notions firmly showcases the reality that Mere Women continue to be one of the most polished post punk entities kicking around the scene right now. And armed with a fervent DIY spirit (thanks, in part, to the unplanned intimacy and space mandated by the ongoing COVID restrictions), there’s significant levels of expansive growth and raw catharsis bubbling away across the space of eleven tracks. From flickers of dramatic mystery (Spell) to whimsical angst (Someone Loves You), frolicking dissonance (As You Please) and jaunty gloom (Spell), Romantic Notions isn’t always a comfortable listen, both from a thematic and sonic perspective; but it’s these challenges and frank realities that ultimately plunge you headfirst into the gleaming cacophony, before spitting you out with an eerie sense of cathartic calm.

Overall, Romantic Notions is an immersive tapestry, traversing the complexities of love and relationships alongside the danger of obsession. But more than that, this is ultimately an album of dizzying strength and execution, and a clear indication that Mere Women are primed and ready to take on the world on their own terms.