Merchants' The Red Room is currently spewing out of my computer's speakers in what might be the filthiest sound wave I have ever experienced... It makes me feel like I should take a shower. I guess what I am trying to say is, if I had a theme song written by Merchants, nobody would ever want to mess with me. Am I painting a good enough picture?
I had the pleasure of catching the Merchants at their CD release show this past Saturday. By the end of the night, the four-piece had the room writhing under fog machines, lasers, and most importantly, a steady stream of glorious grunge-revival. Normally I would say that the bottle of community Jameson had something to do with it - but I think it was more than that. That "something" about Merchants caught the eye of Admirable Traits Records - the two teamed up to release their debut EP, the four-song The Red Room.
"Moth" has this sort of circuit-bent Southern swagger that embodies all that is Merchants - spaced-out grunge with soulful and gritty vocals... I can almost smell the cigarette smoke. Singer Benjamin Maries sings with ferocity in a distorted almost unintelligible drawl - "I don't want to be the one who tells you all those things you did wrong - you say more when you speak less..." There's a reason buffaBLOG included it in their top 20 local tracks of last year.
I found "Roadtrash" to be the pleasant surprise on The Red Room. What surprises me most about Merchants is their ability to slip a keyboard into their fuzzy bliss. They even manage to tuck some chimes into the background. The main guitar riff is a downward spiral into something that sounds more like Arcade Fire or Radiohead than Nirvana. "Roadtrash" might be my favorite moment on The Red Room if only because it shows that Merchants are capable of much more than just grunge.
"Mountains" is also a high point on the EP. Another spiraling guitar riff is accompanied by prominent keyboard from guitarist/keyboardist Steven Gordon. "Mountains" is about as moody as Merchants get - they add to the slow tempo ambiance with a radio broadcast pushed back into the mix. They wrap up the EP with "Ecstasy" which is the kind of music I'd expect to hear in a dark alley somewhere. In fact, this whole EP could probably fuel some heavy drinking in a dive bar somewhere... Or just a room full of Buffalonians passing around a bottle of Jameson.
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