I first came across Meesh last December, attracted in a sort of anti-Mumford and Sons fashion by their self-labelling of their music as anti-folk. Despite this label, their music was a little bit folky, but I loved it nonetheless (see my earlier review).
They have just released three new songs, available to download for free, and the gentle, intelligent beauty of the first song, ‘Lake’, indicates there is a strong songwriting spine in Meesh that is no fluke. Adam Hachey’s vocals are both smooth and tough at the same time, filled with a gentle melancholy that arches over sharp crisp rolling guitars all of which build up to an explosive crescendo that is redolent of Sigur Ros:
‘Endings’ bring the lyrical strength of Meesh to the fore:
People grow afraid
when their flowers are taken away,
when their watches start to break,
when the timing is getting too late.
This is a slow burning fuse of a song laden with gorgeous, muscular harmonies and, again, that beautiful melancholic air:
It is just a vignette that stops short and leaves you wanting much, much more.
The final piece is ‘Glenn’ that is a more uptempo, almost, dare I say, jaunty piece that moves more into The National territory with its piano sprinkled baritone vocals and interwoven strings. It really is a beautiful and haunting piece creating a tension between the sharp jagged music and the restrained and intermittent vocals lying underneath.
Truly a glorious trilogy of songs.
Meesh are based around Adam Hachey and Mitch Chisholm with vocal contributions by Jacky Munoz. Hachey is also doing solo work and will be releasing an album later in the year.
