Album Review: Merci Van Debut EP, “Irrational Anthems”

When Alicia Macier Van Scoy – songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist of local trio Merci Van – sent me their first EP, Irrational Anthems, to review, I already expected to love it. Most of these songs have been in their live sets during their relatively short time together, and three have been recorded and released in demo form before. If I thought I knew what I was getting into, though, I was wrong. The songs may be familiar, but the extent to which they blossomed in the studio surprised me. The band credits this largely to the folks they worked with in putting the album together: Joseph Beaty (credited with production, mixing, and some additional vocals and instrumentation throughout the album) and Paul Coleman (Sinkcharmer, Architrave, Haley Moley), who served as recording and mastering engineer.

The opening track, “Demons,” captures the basic sound of this trio exceptionally well. Van Scoy’s delicate doubled vocals and guitar lines float over Ed Cormac’s simple drumbeat, while Kat’s synths add texture and atmosphere. The song eases you into the dreamscape that the band has produced across these six tracks. “Red Riding Hood” introduces an element of darkness sonically. Van Scoy’s vocals take on a hypnotic rhythm. In addition to the elements already present in the earlier demo recording, a bass groove is introduced here. Some atmospheric background vocals and synthetic whistles over the instrumental interludes give the track an almost Western ambiance.

“Oppenheimer” opens with a swelling synth intro before the guitar and drums kick in to introduce a heavier psych groove. The still delicate vocals floating on top of the more intense instrumentation is a contrast that works incredibly well. The song also switches back and forth between the heavier sections and haunting interludes that promise “daydreams for sale.” This could be jarring, but the band makes it seem like the most natural thing in the world.

“Memory” might be my favorite track on the album (although ask me six times, and I’ll probably name all of them once). The song is lovely already, with the usual band instrumentation. Still, here Van Scoy has broken out her violin to add a further dimension, and her harmony vocals on the refrain “Don’t neglect me in your memory” are lovely. The synths and violin provide a sparse atmosphere over the most stripped-down drumbeat on the album, allowing the haunting vocals to shine. At the same time, the next song, “Awkward Conversation,” feels like a daydream of an unhinged carnival. The effect-heavy vocals trail off in odd ways, and the synths seem just on the brink of breaking down somehow as if Cormac’s steady drums and the song’s short length are the only things keeping things from descending entirely into anarchy.

The album closer “The Artist,” on the other hand, is the longest track at over nine minutes. The song is an ever-evolving nightmare (I mean this in a positive way). The shuffling drums, washed-out synths, and initial guitar line turn into something more driving, the vocals become steady, and an accordion suddenly infiltrates the song. Then backing vocals are introduced, and the tempo descends again. The song becomes a dark march. The lyrics have a sense of longing “I wish I could color” and “I wish I could whistle,” with ruminations on how these skills would change the narrator’s life. “I wish I’d learned how,” VanScoy says several times. The final, devastating punchline is subtle: “Oh I wish I could color / oh I wish I could whistle / oh I wish I could color / I wish I wanted to learn how.” The vocals stop, and the track slowly fades out.

It’s hard to reconcile that Merci Van is still a relatively new band with how this collection of songs seems to capture such a well-developed sound and voice from the trio. It also excites me to see where the band goes next. If I had to voice any complaint, it would be that we only have six songs to listen to for now. I know this record will be in heavy rotation for me, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for Merci Van.