Meursault - Something For The Weakened

Though ‘Something For The Weakened’ isn’t immediately a departure from the ‘epic lo-fi’ that has characterised Meursault’s previous offerings – and in particular opus ‘All Creatures Will Make Merry’ – it is still quite a change. Firstly, gone are the urgent electronics of ‘Crank Resolutions’ and ‘What You Don’t Have’, and secondly there is a marked improvement in the production values, as well as the odd string section flourish – see ‘Hole’. The effect is rather like when The Crimea moved from home demos to Warners and had the ability to add a greater timbral depth to their already intricate compositions.

‘Flittin’’ and ‘Settling’ epitomise their new approach, but in Neil Pennycook’s anguished yelps remain instantly familiar, while the monolithic ‘Dearly Distracted’ has to be amongst the finest material they have yet penned. Neil’s vocals and lyrics remain in rude form, and the emotional impact of their songs has certainly not been affected by the slicker production. In fact, my only criticism of this record can be that while there is a breadth of approaches and textures on this album as well as a more tangible band dynamic, there is nevertheless not a huge variation in tempo. Most of the tracks are slow to middling in pace, and there’s less to really get the blood up. It’s a minor gripe however for what is an exceptional follow-up to a truly singular creation.