Meursault – Meursault
The self-titled, sixth record from Neil Pennycook and company reflects upon their past and journeys through a post-apocalyptic future with chaotic synths, mournful strings and feedback-riddled crescendos in tow
Meursault, led by singer-songwriter Neil Pennycook, return with an eight-song offering that feels inventive and invigorating enough to harbour the vital spark of a debut release. It’s fitting that the record is self-titled, as it frequently and compellingly engages with songs and events from the Edinburgh-based collective’s past.
The aftermath of an apocalypse is the setting for opening track Rats In the Corn. The instrumentation, equal parts defiant and mournful, becomes increasingly wild as the song trudges through the remnants of civilisation, with valve amps pushed to the brink in a feedback-riddled climax that channels the titanic, freewheeling spirit of Neil Young, whom Pennycook recently paid tribute to with an exquisite, early-lockdown EP entitled More Barn!
Meursault’s sixth album, recorded on the Isle of Skye, ably captures the soulful, transfixing performances Pennycook and his seven companions are known for, their musicianship shining particularly bright during WOLF!!! and on simmering then soaring lead single Laugh Track. Pennycook's songs always seem to be crafted with equal care, and while some may find this record a little too consistently downbeat, it's far from one-note or unadventurous.
The title-track and Erik are tender, weary and piano-led, while Pennycook's post-apocalyptic world is revisited in Another, Again – a woozy, stylish voyage into new sonic terrain. Close your eyes and picture the ghost of a 1950s detective from Las Vegas strolling by, revolver in hand, as the organ howls. Is that Tom Waits lurking around the corner, plotting to swipe the microphone?
While 2019's Crow Hill remains not only the crown jewel of Meursault's discography, but also a frustratingly overlooked all-time Scottish great, Pennycook and company's self-titled release isn't eclipsed by it at all. Making the Most of the Raw Materials of Futility is a relentless thrill-ride, its tense verses propelled towards euphoric choruses by gloriously chaotic synths that sound like Pac-Man on steroids, while Teacher, Was I Wrong To Burn is disarmingly specific as it delves into Pennycook’s personal life. The beautiful, weighty closing track is true to life in the way it elects not to tie things up neatly by its conclusion, and is all the more moving and relatable as a result. Few things are sugar-coated in Meursault songs. Instead, we face reality head on, bolstered by Pennycook’s empathy, passion and conviction: 'And if it seems like a lot / This is God’s work, Son'.
Listen to: Rats In the Corn, WOLF!!!, Another, Again