Album Review: Mere Women - OId Life

At first, the abrasiveness of Sydney's Mere Women is a little confronting, even with a vague idea of what to expect. Waiting Room creeps up slowly with ambient washes while a marching drum accompanies singer Amy Wilson's high vocal wail. It drops back to almost nothing leaving just the mathematical beat and vocals as the guitars start pounding rhythmic noise over the top, which sounds random but is just as uniformly executed as the drumming. The song bleeds naturally into TB with some repetition and a low rumble of a hook that is enough to hang onto if you concentrate. Similarly, this tracks breaks down in the middle to reveal a second half which outshines its humble beginnings.

While clearly the band has been heavily influenced by post-punk and no wave, there's a million other influences that have been distilled into the very dense mix. The high energy tracks in the middle of the album, Hoof Foot and Indian, show just one of the very different directions the band could have taken.

Even as late as Mister Minute, the very last track, they still haven't covered all the bases. A loose jangly riff builds a loop with staccato drums interfering while even more guitar noise is layered up on top. Eventually organ drones start to carve out a melody while the vocals start to emerge. After a brief gap, the most tuneful and catchy part of the album emerges out of nowhere, lasting for about a minute-and-a-half. It finishes so abruptly that it leaves you hungry for more, just as they've created your appetite.