Nicholas Merz plies the same kind of widescreen, literate music for adventurers that shares some similarities with the likes of The Triffids and The Go-Betweens; a deep, resonant voice, seemingly full of wisdom, backed by a thoughtful band that frames the lyrics and leaves space for the listener’s imagination.
On the six tracks presented on Merz’s God Won’t Save You, But I Will, the stentorian delivery demands that you listen, with some tracks delivering more of a narrative than a rhyme-by-rhyme approach. This is particularly evident on opener “Drifting Palomino”, which also benefits from the insistence of certain phrases, repeated to really put the point across. The band is strong, but they are happy to sit back and allow the words to unwind and then to work their ways around them. As the emotion in the voice stretches it higher, so a lonely guitar follows in sympathy. It weaves from calm to crazed with cymbal washes and throbbing organ constantly changing the mood.
The other tracks veer across the emotions: “Midnight Movement” weaves with a Low-like tempo, more introverted and stripped right back, its pedal steel vibe searching the night as keyboards sway in the shadows; while “God’s Death” is almost lullaby-like and allows the listener to fully appreciate the story, a pact with death played out over a real downer rhythm. The band’s intensity is not lessened by their subtlety, and the players are a perfect foil to the slow unfolding.-Mr Olivetti-
