Today, Merryn Jeann reveals ‘ME B4 U’ an odd pop delight that’s the second single from her upcoming, first full length album DOG BEACH coming via her co-founded label Rescue + Return Records on February 23rd.
Born from the complexities of navigating romance, ‘ME B4 U‘ is an unabashed display of self-discovery and mindfulness, juxtaposing heady melodies against imaginative percussive runs, and vocal asides like your subconsciousness bubbling in, it’s like the voice bouncing around in your head. With flashes of Caroline Polacheck and Jenny Hval, It’s a delightfully inventive shot of hooky alt pop, that makes us intrigued to hear more.
Merryn Jeann is a multidimensional artist, exploring both visual and sonic arts. Produced by Rob Ellis (known for his work with PJ Harvey), today’s new single is accompanied by a self-directed video, featuring Merryn’s niece, Eden Rain, who also co-directed the video. Endearing and playful it brings the audio to life and serves as an intriguing and enticing insight into the poetic intricacies of Merryn Jeann.
In the video, Merryn Jeann is a teenager, who is realizing that she shouldn’t give too much of herself away to other people. She knows there is more to explore in the world and embarks on her odyssey of self-discovery. Sharing more, Merryn Jeann explained: “It’s a song about understanding that one must surrender themself to one’s life before the ability of truly bringing someone in and feeling good around them too. I guess you can still really love someone even if you’re a bit rocky with yourself, as long as there’s self reflection and the willingness to get to know yourself alongside them/the relationship. It’s also a coming of age song I’ve envisioned people listening to in the car, windows down and hands playing with the wind like in every indie love film ever.“
Merryn Jeann is a Naarm/Melbourne and Bundjalung Country/Byron Bay Shire based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has crafted a genre-bending, dreamy world of soundscapes that bear a magnetic, musical wisdom., Merryn Jeann’s sound is fueled by authenticity. Her raw and honest self packaged into intricate and reflective morsels, many of which are yet to be revealed.
After living in Paris for many years, Merryn recently returned to Australia to study Fine Arts in Melbourne, however after one semester, music drew her back in and became her primary focus once more. Through this short though profound experience at school, Merryn took the opportunity to truly recognise the visual arts angle as a lens to experience, see and understand her music making process and performance, to deepen this pre-existing relationship as demonstrated in her self directed, somewhat experimental videos (under the alias MAAMDAAM) and captivating live shows. Check out ‘Floating Away’ performed live for Blogothèque here.
DOG BEACH is due for release February 23rd will be the follow-up to Merryn’s self-titled debut mini LP, which came out in 2019. Since its release, Merryn has released a live EP ‘Live at Le Trabendo’ and nurtured many successful collaborations including ‘Shade Under Your Hands’, which came as a album from OOSO; a music and artist collective founded by herself, Chris Hill and Kyson.
Photo credit: Rosa Spring Voss
