Dork
  • Music News
    • Latest News
    • Album Release Schedule
  • Features
    • Features & Interviews
    • Artist Guides
    • In Photos
  • New Music
    • Hype
    • Hype News
    • Hype Features & Interviews
    • Hype Reviews
  • Playlists
    • Playlists
    • Dork Playlist
    • The Cut
    • Hype
      • Cover Story
      • Hype Playlist
  • Reviews
    • Album & EP Reviews
    • Live Reviews
  • Radio
    • Home
    • Shows
      • Down With Boring
    • Playlist
    • Listen Again
    • Podcast
      • Apple Podcasts
      • Spotify
      • Google Podcasts
      • Stitcher
      • aCast
      • TuneIn
  • Magazine
    • Latest Issue
    • Back Issues
    • Print Subscriptions
    • Print + Digital Subscriptions
  • Shop
  • Supporters
    • Support Dork
    • Supporter Only Content
    • Digital Library
HTML5 RADIO PLAYER PLUGIN WITH REAL VISUALIZER powered by Sodah Webdesign Dexheim
Dork
  • Music News
    • Latest News
    • Album Release Schedule
  • Features
    • Features & Interviews
    • Artist Guides
    • In Photos
  • New Music
    • Hype
    • Hype News
    • Hype Features & Interviews
    • Hype Reviews
  • Playlists
    • Playlists
    • Dork Playlist
    • The Cut
    • Hype
      • Cover Story
      • Hype Playlist
  • Reviews
    • Album & EP Reviews
    • Live Reviews
  • Radio
    • Home
    • Shows
      • Down With Boring
    • Playlist
    • Listen Again
    • Podcast
      • Apple Podcasts
      • Spotify
      • Google Podcasts
      • Stitcher
      • aCast
      • TuneIn
  • Magazine
    • Latest Issue
    • Back Issues
    • Print Subscriptions
    • Print + Digital Subscriptions
  • Shop
  • Supporters
    • Support Dork
    • Supporter Only Content
    • Digital Library
  • Album & EP Reviews

Merchandise – A Corpse Wired For Sound

  • Dork
  • September 23, 2016
Label:
Released:
Rating:

Merchandise - A Corpse Wired For Sound

Merchandise can burst way out of the indie rock ghetto into the stratosphere of pop success.

Label: 4AD
Released: September 23rd 2016
Rating: ★★★★

Merchandise have come a long way since they emerged raging from the Tampa, Florida hardcore scene in 2008. Ever evolving across their five previous albums the band have returned with their most ambitious and glorious album yet.

While 2013’s ‘After The End’ was something of a minor breakthrough it’s pop sheen and sweet atmosphere was slightly at odds with the altogether darker beast that Merchandise are at heart. ‘A Corpse Wired For Sound’ finds them revelling in an alluring dark-hearted 80s pop sound that combines being melodic and accessible with just the right touch of gloom, dread and mystery.

Beginning with the dream pop electro swoosh of single ‘Flower Of Sex’ the album takes in a far more pronounced electro sound, think more the gothic tinged melodrama of Depeche Mode though than Kraftwerk. The nine songs are the perfect showcase for a trimmed down three-piece Merchandise led by the enigmatic singer Carson Cox whose sensual croon is all over these songs.

While the album has the cloak of night time ambience, it’s also a deeply stylish and vivid album that highlights the most diverse music of Merchandises career, for example on the playful dub reggae like swing of ‘Right Back To The Start’. The energised new wave pop rush of ‘Lonesome Sound’ shows that Merchandise have wonderfully honed their ability to make prime pop in a diverting way while the fevered crescendo of closing track ‘My Dream Is Yours’ is a stunning way to finish.

Perhaps the key song of Merchandise’s whole career though can be found in the penultimate song. ‘I Will Not Sleep Here’ written by guitarist Dave Vassalotti has been around since the bands existence but here they finally getting it right delivering a show-stopping piece of heartfelt epic rock that suggests Merchandise can burst way out of the indie rock ghetto into the stratosphere of pop success. It really is that good.

Sometimes it takes a while for a band to truly blossom but in embracing the darkness and the widest textures of their electro rock palette Merchandise have shown that they’re now in full bloom. Martyn Young

You May Also Like
View Post
  • Features

Louis Tomlinson’s ‘All Of Those Voices’ is a love letter to the people who made his career what it is today – review

  • March 27, 2023
View Post
  • Music News

Bimini shares first music of 2023 with ‘Rodeo’

  • March 25, 2023
View Post
  • Music News

boygenius have announced a few global listening events, plus a Banquet out-store show

  • March 24, 2023
Latest issue
Latest
    • Music News
    Frightened Rabbit and Death Cab For Cutie are auctioning off a guitar for mental health charity Tiny Changes
    • Music News
    Coach Party, VLURE, HotWax, Mac Wetha and more have joined the line-up for The Great Escape 2023
    • Music News
    Sŵn Festival has confirmed its first wave of acts, feat. Jessica Winter, Lynks and more
    • Music News
    Jungle have shared a brand new track, ‘CANDLE FLAME’
    • Music News
    Tyler, The Creator is dropping an expanded edition of ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ on Friday

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get pop nonsense to your inbox.

Dork
  • Contact
  • Jobs
  • Privacy
© 2016-2021 The Bunker Publishing Ltd

Input your search keywords and press Enter.