There is a wonderful swirl of contradictions at the heart of “The Mountain Lion,” the new single from Merwulf, a blend of juxtapositions and a jumble of opposites that the band manages to resolve into something sonically intriguing and slightly addictive. After all, you know what they say about opposites and attraction!
Running on depth charge, bass-driven, abrasive grooves, underpinned by a beat, embellished by synthy sonics, it is as if they have taken the spirit of punk, slowed it down and turned it into something more deliberate, something more thoughtful…not less incendiary, but that explosiveness seems more composed, more considered.
And so it is a song that balances angst and artistry, power and poise…and poignancy, grit and groove, and in its own harsh and heady way, grace too. There is also a deliberate off-beat, wonkiness to it, as if art rock and the riot grrl end of punk had a child, a child constantly torn between restraint and the desire to go wild, creative expression, and a sheer art attack! The fact that this build-up of tension never resolves into an obvious display of angst and anger makes the song even more interesting. You are constantly anticipating the release of energy that never comes.
Reminiscent of the New York no-wave scene, of that experimental post punk boom where ex-punks realized that the world was their sonic oyster, the gloves were off, and they could create music according to their own rules, and art rock scenes found across genre and geography, Merwulf is one of the most intriguing bands of the moment.
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