The PR blurb for the release says that ‘Dull Spark’ is far more upbeat than usual Meursault songs. While this may be true, the lyrics and themes in the song may not be what you’d expect after such a description. The song is hopful and defiant but still revolves around unhappiness and death, yet another example of the band refusing to deliver cliche. Meursault don’t create half-familiar, build-your-own identikit tracks, no variations of the common themes. Each song is crafted from the bottom up, a unique blend of love, melancholy, and humour that enables their albums to stand head and shoulders above the crowds of artists out there today. Not all love songs are soppy, not all sad songs are break-ups.

Both the album and the single are available from Song By Toad Records. There is a lovely video from David Lemm and both the single and it’s B-side after the jump.

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Much has been said in other reviews (I’m a little late to the party) of the pros and cons of Meursault switching from their electronic-based leanings to the rich and clear sound of SFTW, a point of debate that, while interesting, is not really needed. Pennycook’s songwriting and voice excel regardless of what is behind him. On Pissing On Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues, ‘A Few Kind Words’ was a standout for the urgent lyrics. Now, the sound has changed but the clever and cathartic lyrics remain. If anything we should welcome the variation.

I think the true appeal of Meursault is the way that they manage to balance everything across the songs. There are sincerely restrained songs (for example ‘Mamie’) and there are songs with a bit of a ‘fuck off’ attitude (‘Settling’ and ‘Hole’). It takes quality writing to pull off emotion without the trite, to achieve plain-speaking honesty without sounding pompous. Cliches are circumnavigated with care. Pennycook captures a wide range of feelings and the narratives/themes appear all the more human and realistic as a result. I find myself banging on about this idea when writing about my favourite songs; if something is believable, if something truly meant, I feel the quality of the music increases exponentially.

Something For The Weakened is available from Song By Toad Records, along with a rather extravagant (but reasonably priced) deluxe edition. Stream ‘Flittin’ above or head over to This Is Fake DIY for a full listen. If you are new to Meursault then pick up the previous records here too.

Ha, fucking ha.

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