MERYL STREEK — ‘SONGS FOR THE DECEASED’

Writer’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Irish punk act Meryl Streek is a name I only became familiar with in the middle of last year. When I first heard ‘If This Is Life’ I was immediately hooked by everything about him. The music and lyrics were so raw and when paired with that catchy little synth rhythm the song was stuck in my head immediately. It was a song I instantly connected to and felt seen by and from that moment on my love of Meryl Streek and all he did was born.

Growing up in Ireland I am all too familiar with the routine, repeated failures of various Irish governments and how they consistently let down the working class. Their insistence on allowing landlords to run wild, mainly because most of them are landlords, among many other awful decisions is what causes so many young Irish people to emigrate and forcing those who can’t afford to do so to grow up in their parents house into their thirties. Whilst ‘If This Is Life’ has a somewhat nihilistic yet optimistic tone, when I dove deeper into other music it was a lot angrier which was what I was expecting.

‘Songs for the Deceased’ is just that and more. A blistering takedown of everything going wrong, wrapped up neatly in a tight, angry package. Many lyrics are delivered more like poetry or spoken word as opposed to being sung. It’s an in your face, not entirely digestible approach that works perfectly for what he’s trying to convey.

I’ve seen many critics describe the music of Meryl Streek as “avant-garde punk” and whilst that is right, using phrases like avant-garde to describe Meryl Streek feels wrong. Whatever way you want to describe it, the music is provocative, it is angry and it pulls no punches.

A knife-sharp lyricist, cutting to the core of many issues faced not just in Ireland but by the working class worldwide. Whilst many lyrics are centred in Ireland and many issues highlighted may be worse in Ireland than other countries, worldwide we see the results of allowing landlords to run wild with no consequences, we see what happens when tax cuts are given to the richest and tax raises inflicted on the poorest. Whilst you may not know the ins and outs of Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil’s failings by their names you no doubt know of these issues under the name of another party.

The album’s opening track ‘Welcome’ sets the stage for what’s to come. Thumping drums are eventually joined by voiceovers from various news reports and interviews with every voice letting the listener hear what life in Ireland is really like. Talks of young people forced to move out of cities or move in with their parents and live on couches just to be able to afford to live. This is eventually joined by a playful banjo lick, repeated over and over. The folksy banjo is a reminder that this issue is an issue so many Irish people face every day. It puts these issues to the forefront and helps to paint a picture of what life in Ireland is like for so many. Whilst this tracks serves to build atmosphere, the thumping bass and drums builds a tension and a pressure that riles you up as a listener, ready to explode. When the next track, the cleverly named ‘Fine Jail’ starts, that pressure gets released. A blistering, no punches pulled takedown of the politicians in Ireland and a cry to all to recognise their incompetence. The guitar is very minimal in this, despite over half the song being instrumental as it builds before the lyrics are heard, allowing the full focus of the listen to go to the anger he is feeling.

This track is followed up by ‘Bertie’, a specific call out of Bertie Ahern. Ahern was the Taoiseach from 1997-2008, the man in charge of the country throughout the Celtic Tiger and the economic boom, a period which many young Irish people see as the beginning of a lot of the country’s biggest issues. The opening line of this track is “A despicable prick, played off as a good laugh” so it’s clear to see the feelings towards Bertie aren’t those of love. The anger towards the situation the country is in permeates through every song on this record but maybe none more so than here.

Whilst many of the songs here take aim at landlords and politicians (many of them being both as pointed out in the chorus of ‘Counting Sheep’) it’s not all vitriol towards ineffectual TDs and their broken promises, the song ‘Paddy’ is a love letter to his Uncle Paddy. When you listen to the words he speaks of his uncle, you can place him instantly. I may not have known Paddy, but I know many Paddy’s just like him. Great men who spent their life learning, reading, having the craic and bringing joy to everyone in their orbit. It’s a welcomed break and an intermission from the intensity felt elsewhere.

Towards the end of the record is the song ‘Terrance’, a song for Terence Wheelock, a young man who died in Garda custody in 2006 and 18 years later, his family have still received no justice. As he details the events, details the story and relays this information to me my heart breaks all over again. It’s a story I knew but this first listen was still tough.

Throughout this record, Meryl Streek aims to shine a light on as many of the problems many young Irish people face. The housing crisis caused by greedy landlords, the injustice the Wheelock family are still facing, the years and years of austerity and poverty imposed by greedy politicians doing nothing less than serving the interests of themselves and their mates. In a time when many right wing groups try to stir division within the working class in Ireland based on race and nationality, this album should serve as a stark reminder to every Irish person that the enemy sits in Dáil Éireann and allows landlords to price you out of a home.

It is nothing less than a masterful, witty, sharp and red hot assessment of the current state of the country by one of punk’s new heroes. Truly one of the best albums to leave the country in years.