Meridene

Meridene didn't set out to write an album about the pressures and paranoia Americans face during economic and cultural turmoil in the early stages of the 21st Century. Instead, they focused on writing an album to build upon their 2008 debut, You're Not Pretty, You're Worse which featured the punchy rock anthems and hard-hitting hooks that earned Meridene praise from college radio stations across the country. Their sophomore full-length album, titled Something Like Blood, solidifies the Eau Cl...

Meridene didn't set out to write an album about the pressures and paranoia Americans face during economic and cultural turmoil in the early stages of the 21st Century. Instead, they focused on writing an album to build upon their 2008 debut, You're Not Pretty, You're Worse which featured the punchy rock anthems and hard-hitting hooks that earned Meridene praise from college radio stations across the country. Their sophomore full-length album, titled Something Like Blood, solidifies the Eau Claire, WI four-piece as a dual threat by embodying both lyrically focused themes of fear and doubt, and a band realizing its full potential. Something Like Blood was recorded over four intense days at the home-studio of Bon Iver, April Base, in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Meridene also found support from fellow local musicians. The album was produced and mixed by Brian Moen (Peter Wolf Crier) with T.W. Walsh (formerly of Pedro The Lion and The Soft Drugs) mastering. At their highest level of energy, the songs found on Something Like Blood attack with layers of charging guitars, sprawling keys and high-intensity percussion, while front man Trevor Ives' voice soars over it all with warnings about trust and inevitable loss on tracks like "Written Like Mad Sonnets" and "Gone, Baby Gone". Although the band has brandished a tight pop-rock sound on this album, the songs that make up Something Like Blood aren't all sprints. The title track, "Something Like Blood", and "Bible Belt" find their stride at slower speeds and impress with well-developed songwriting and organization. Their success is a sound somewhere between the pop-formula of The Shins and the intelligence of Cursive with traces of Death Cab For Cutie. If it wasn't already, Meridene is certainly working on all cylinders now. Equal parts intelligent and variable songwriting, as well as socially conscious inspired lyrics and themes, Something Like Blood serves as a true example of a band coming into its own in the best way possible.