This 15-track discography of the mighty MEREL features all of their recordings made during their existence from 1990-1994. Featuring a rhythm section who went on to help form New Jersey’s brilliant Rye Coalition, Merel played chaotic, abrasive, and quite loud experimental hardcore that separated itself from the norm with its unlikely musical creativity. Fierce vocals lead the way, and they are actually relatively understandable while still being quite aggressively screamed. The band toys with both straight-ahead hardcore and a much more explosive style comparable to a completely untamed Rye Coalition. The experimental tracks are culled mostly from the band’s only full-length, while the earlier recordings show the more untamed but straightforward approach. Most of the material is extremely effective, but the eight tracks from the LP are what make this disc really worthwhile. Merel develops their hardcore with no boundaries, and wailing guitars along with unrestrained song structures push the music toward increasingly effective results. All in all, this record is a fitting memorial to a promising if not so well-known group, and their bearing on the music later made in Rye Coalition alone makes it a worthwhile disc. (Peter D’Angelo)
Don't Watch That
