Back in the heady days of 2016 a couple of friends got together recorded an EP and started a label to release it. That EP was given a universal seal of approval and was considered an instant classic. Fast forward five years and those friends have reconvened and released a follow up.
The label in question was Curl and the original EP was Brother May’s May and Meeks, and their new release is titled Meeks and May. The line-up is the same from the original. Brother May is delivering the vocals while Mica ‘Micachu’ Levi takes charge of the producing, mixing, and recording.
As with the original the music is slick and exciting but somehow dirty and shady at the same time. This juxtaposition really works well with May’s vocals. As usual May tells honest stories of his life. They are filled with the stark trivialities of life, but they also have moral messages. The main take away is “don’t be a dick”, but I won’t ruin the rest.
The standout track ‘7 Duorfs (Work, Work, Work)’ features another Curl alumnus. Namely Coby Sey. If Sey hadn’t been on the track it still would have been an incendiary one but with his involvement it’s taken to another level. The melodies are catchy and sound slightly nostalgic. But nostalgic for music lessons in school when they broke out the keyboard and you were told to ‘write a song’. This analogy doesn’t really do the song justice, and might sound like a slight when it isn’t, but it’s the way the keyboard just repeats the same run while the beats do just enough to keep things moving, but not quite enough to remove the fear that it will all topple over. In short, its gloriously wonky, but with a devious pop sheen.
The downside to the EP is how the songs just, well, stop. They don’t fade out or have outros. They just end. Sometimes mid-melody. This of course makes the songs feel more immediate, but it would have been a smoother listening experience if the ends had been as thought out as the intros and middles. Saying that, what Meeks and May shows is that both May and Levi still have plenty to say. It shows that this partnership still has plenty of life left in it. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another five years for the third instalment.
