Review Summary: A fantastic release from a promising band. Hardcore that presents itself as interesting as 'Blue Jay' does is rare these days.
I must admit that not much hardcore surprises me anymore. Maybe I just wore the genre out in all the wrong places, but lately it hasn't been giving me the feeling it once gave me. However...I think I've found a release that takes me back to the cathartic zone that bands like Touche Amore, Defeater, Deafheaven, Pianos Become The Teeth and others have done for me.
Texas natives Meraki/Toska manage to go above their genre a few ways that are respectable. With this new EP, 'Blue Jay', we see the inclusion of post-rock elements in the band’s sound. On their debut EP, 'Hidden In Me Somewhere', the band unleashed straight hardcore sounds that were decent enough to keep me going back for more. I must say though, that if this EP had sounded just like 'Hidden', I wouldn’t have been able to have kept my interest up. It’s a good thing the band evolved and added new elements to their sound - from saddling a third member up with some vocal duties to introducing progressive songwriting structures that include ambient interludes in tracks to full roaring post-rock instrumentals and...to drunken bar sing-alongs?
Something interesting must be afoot here. And here we dive into Meraki/Toska’s Blue Jay EP to investigate.
The EP starts off with a quiet guitar melody punctuated by harsh and abrasive screams, “I can taste the warmth leaving your lips, I can hear the passion leaving your voice, and I know it'll be a long time before I find a love like this again. And I can feel your love slipping away.” We’re in for a ride here. Yes, opening track “Slipping Away” does an adequate job in setting up the lyrical content that we’re going to be bombarded with on the next seven tracks. As an intro track, I feel it’s exactly as I said - adequate and respectable.
3/5
We move onto “Brittle Bones”, a hard-hitting and jagged edged track that feature dual vocalists hammering away at a subject matter of personal vice - a theme that is echoed across the EP. While the more driven sections are by the numbers, it is the changes in tempo and feeling that are of great note here. An example of progressive songwriting has been found in Meraki/Toska’s music, the interlude and the ending all conjure up incredibly harsh and gritty feelings. As the song ends, we are injected with a dosage of atmosphere that will continue onto the next track.
3.5/5
“Come Clean” is introduced to us with a fantastic intro engineered with a palm-muted, quick picked & delayed riff. Soon after, another guitar provides light and airy textures along with the drums and the bass. The musicians play off one another here in such a way that shows their true talent. This is also a song where I believe the lyricism begins to achieve the ambitious level of poignancy it strives for. “When it came to their love I was never sure if I was the user or the used. I just have to make it through the night so this longing for you subsides as the sun rises. Then I can be nothing, I can be nothing at all.” Getting washed up in the vocals makes the song drift by faster than it should, and that’s the only issue I have with it. Or is it really an issue? All I know is I wished it were longer because it’s that damn good.
4/5
Ahh, “Solitude”. This ended up being my favorite track off of their last release, 'Hidden In Me Somewhere', and it appears they have re-recorded it. Everything is still here, though I do enjoy the higher recording quality. I can hear every little note that the song throws out at me. It’s a nice, brief number that features incredible guitar lines that make me reminisce of the band 'Hopesfall', one of my all time favorite hardcore bands. More importantly, it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome nor does it leave me wanting more in a negative way. That’s enough paraphrasing from my old review, I’ll just rate this and move on.
4/5
“Waking Hours” is a track that I believe plays off the biggest to the band’s ‘Pianos Become The Teeth’ influence. It opens with a warm soundscape that sets up a grand mood for us as the guitars begin their melodies. The vocals showcase a brief poem before a nice, relaxing post-rock instrumental is started. We are met with highlights from the guitarists once again.
3/5
“Sentimentality” is another track that opens up with a melodic guitar riff-fest, but it still has some bites to offer before the vocals come in blazing. It’s got a nice tempo and flow and the high point here is the dynamics that are present - shifting from heavy to light to fast to slow, etc. It’s just another example of Meraki/Toska’s progression in terms of songwriting. Towards the end, it picks up and I wished that the previous segments of the song could’ve given me the amount of tension that this section did.
3/5
“Bar Scene” is...well, an interesting track to say the least. Certainly Meraki/Toska has a concept with the 'Blue Jay' EP, and this film-inspired segue serves as a nice way to dish out some atmosphere. The drunken song evokes some comedic relief, but this could also come from the fact that it was something I did NOT expect in the slightest. It’s short, it’s not meant to have depth - but it is a satisfactory waiting period for you to regain your feelings to brace for the next track.
2/5
“Blue On Blue” … This is it. This is the monster track that defines Meraki/Toska’s 'Blue Jay' EP. Sprawling, epic and multi-faceted - the dynamic changes that highlighted previous tracks culminate in a song that shifts with the proverbial tide until it washes over you with it’s hand of melodic and abrasive force. Of particular note is the bridge that begins at about 1:50 - it is my favorite moment of the entire EP and has stuck with me ever since I listened to it - the harsh screams splitting the words “Blue on blue, we start anew and tomorrow's not just another day, so speak the truth. Open your eyes to a brand new way, don't love the life you'll never live; blue on blue.” in a pure, anthemic voice that evokes catharsis in both the band and the listener.
Now, as much violent praise as I can heap upon this track - there will always be a detractor. And the detractor lies within the clean singing that follows the bridge. Perhaps it is not within my taste, but I found it to be unsuited to the song, the notes to be flat and for it to be all around sketchy. If you can get past it though, the gold mine awaits.
Everything that M/T has done fantastically with their tracks, they bring out the absolute gem and continue their foray into progressive structures and interludes. It’s a total grand-slam of a track.
4/5
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I’ve talked enough about Meraki/Toska’s “Blue Jay” EP. Can I recommend it? Absolutely. The lyricism is poignant, the musicianship is what is immediately identifiable, and the progressive themes that the album brings about are enough to propel this release into ‘interesting’ territory, unlike so many hardcore releases these days. On a technical note, the production is quite commendable as well, with every instrument capable of being heard and given it’s own specific piece of the puzzle when viewing the tracks.
Hear it for yourself and enjoy the experience.
4.5/5
