DISC 1 1. Welcome 2. Fine Jail 3. If This Is Life 4. Bertie 5. Counting Sheep 6. Dogs 7. By Ones Own Hand 8. Paddy 9. Interlude 10. Gambling Death 11. Terence 12. The Industry 13. Murder 14. The Stardust Arriving in 2022, Irish artist Meryl Streek, was unaware of the impact his clash of experimental electronica and explosive punk would have on the music scene around him. Armed with just a microphone and a laptop, in less than a year the Dublin based producer went from playing his first show in a local squat to performing live at Kentish Town Forum, London, supporting post-punk legends Public Image Ltd. Meryl Streek’s debut album ‘796’ (2022) cemented itself as one of the most visceral, important political records of the decade so far, with one critic praising it as “the most incendiary and important punk rock album of the year” (Paul Brannigan/Louder). Though rooted in Irish socio-political commentary, the album’s themes resonated with people around the world, leading to live performances across Europe and as far as Gran Canaria. ‘Songs For The Deceased’ once again saw the Irish artist enter Darklands Audio with producer Dan Doherty (Fontaines D.C.). The outcome is a kaleidoscopic fusion of news samples, distorted guitars, electronic beats, and traditional Irish music, all laying the foundation for Streek’s impassioned spoken word performance. To push the music into new spaces, Meryl Streek invited guest musicians to collaborate. Benefits’ Kingsley Hall provides spoken word to the album’s ‘Interlude’, Cal Graham from UK punks The Chisel appears on ‘Dogs’ and influential guitarist Oliver Ackermann (A Place to Bury Strangers) delivers a feedback soaked outro for the song ‘Murder’. Lyrically the songs veer from the deeply personal (‘Paddy’ is a tribute to his uncle Paddy, a unique individual who chose to live life by his own terms) to historic tragedies (‘Stardust’ remembers the victims of the fire that took place at the Stardust venue Feb 14th 1981, killing 48 people and leaving families begging for answers as to why the disaster happened in the first place). “This is a collection of stories about Betrayal, Murder, Injustice, and Corruption around my hometown of Dublin.” explains Meryl Streek. “It’s not just happening in Ireland, it’s happening around the world and we’re supposed to just take it lying down?”. Politically charged and sonically vibrant, ‘Songs For The Deceased’ isn’t just a statement about Ireland, it’s a call to arms around the world. Dublin based political punk provocateur Meryl Streek is set to make his long awaited return with brand new single ‘Paddy’ taken from the new album ‘Songs For The Deceased’ (out Oct 25). “The new single is about my uncle Paddy who sadly died about 5 years ago. He was very young and it was very unexpected”. Meryl Streek continues, “My whole life I remember Paddy reading books, watching old movies and just being one of the smartest people I had in my life. He got it from my grandad and was raised that way of course. An avid fan of red wine and cigarettes, he lived his life like many of the great Irish writers of our time. He chose to learn through his own teachings and that was the way he started and ended. I wanted to have a song on the album about him as he was important to me and also a very unique character.Ill safely say that this song isnt written for anyone but my family.” Paddy has proved itself to be one of the most popular songs in the live set despite being unreleased, it brings people together. “Ive been playing it live for a year now and its been the song every night to make people understand what Meryl Streek is truly about” Meryl Streek’s debut album 796 arrived on 4th November 2022 and cemented itself as one of the most visceral, important political records of the decade so far with one critic praising it as “the most incendiary and important punk rock album of the year” (Paul Brannigan/Louder). It shone a light on the 796 bodies of children found in a septic tank at Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Taum, Ireland, a maternity home for unmarried mothers and their children run by Catholic nuns. Armed with just a microphone and a laptop, in less than a year Meryl Streek went from playing his first show in a Dublin squat to performing live at Kentish Town Forum supporting post-punk pioneers Public Image Ltd. The combination of news samples, rumbling bass and a front-man marching through crowds spitting out truth like his life depended on it cemented the Irish poet as the punk scene’s new saviour, embodying the essence of the genre while simultaneously reinventing it. It quickly became clear that the songs on 796, though rooted in Irish socio-political commentary, resonated with people around the world and the single ‘Death To The Landlord’ quickly became an anthem for those challenging oppression. Soon enough, Meryl Streek was not only headlining tours in the UK, but also making festival appearances across Europe venturing as far as Gran Canaria. Much like the first album, ‘Songs For The Deceased’ saw Meryl Streek enter the Dublin recording studio Darklands Audio with producer Dan Doherty (Fontaines D.C.). “The album came about in bits and pieces due to the amount of gigging. I got so carried away with playing live I forgot about the recording side of things and what matters the most to me.” To push the music into new spaces, Meryl Streek invited guest musicians to collaborate on tracks along the way. Benefits front man Kingsley Hall provides spoken word to the album’s ‘Interlude’, Cal Graham from UK punks The Chisel appears on forthcoming single ‘Dogs’ and influential musician Oliver Ackermann from A Place to Bury Strangements contorts his guitar sound for a truly experimental outro on the song ‘Murder’. “Im delighted to have some of my favourite artists on this record with me and very thankful that they are.” The songs move from the deeply personal (‘Paddy’ is a tribute to his uncle Paddy, a unique individual who chose to live life by his own terms), political (‘Bertie’ directly targets controversial Irish politician Bertie Ahern), social (‘Gambling Death’ deals with gambling addiction head on), to tragedies from Irish history (‘Stardust’ remembers the victims of the fire that took place at the Stardust venue Feb 14th 1981, killing 48 people and leaving families begging for answers as to why the disaster happened in the first place). “It was only when I finished recording the new album I realised I had made a record that revolved around people and events around my hometown of Dublin. Now, I admit its not always a pretty picture Im painting, and it probably never will be, but these are cases that desperately need awareness.” For Meryl Streek it’s business as usual. “This is a collection of stories about Betrayal, Murder, Injustice, and Corruption. It’s not just happening in Ireland, it’s happening around the world and we’re supposed to just take it lying down?”. ‘Songs For The Deceased’ isn’t just about Streek’s hometown, it’s an album about people and their relationship with a society that continues to let them down. It’s a tale as old as time, on a global scale. There will always be stories to tell and injustices to highlight, and Meryl Streek won’t let us forget quickly.
