Merpire — Milk Pool
Armed with a natural gift for hooky indie-rock that's emotive, memorable and comfortable, her songs are often playful yet mature, capable of tension and tenderness, and very relatable.
Observe how she renders the simultaneous thrill and fear of a crush that develops into something serious in three unique ways across the album's opening triptych — easily some of the Melbourne/Naarm artist's strongest material to date.
'Leaving With You' instantly snares you with its grunge-laced, earwormy riff and killer chorus:
'I only stay in the hope of leaving with you I run away with the thought of it coming true'
Following that strong opener, 'Premonition' rewires similar feelings into sensual synths and gorgeously restrained atmosphere. 'When we hug/And f**k around/I get a premonition' , Merpire sings, twisting the expletive into a magically melismatic flourish.
She's called it her "horniest song" yet, but then along comes 'Bigger' and its saucy chorus regarding fingers in mouths and rebuffing of romantic advances "going south". The vivid lyrics are perfectly pitched against catchy melodies and full-band groove that's fun rather than merely flirtatious.
'Fishing' is a charismatic, crunchy ode to community, specifically the local music scene in which Merpire (real name Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt) is firmly planted.
Her roots spread from co-founding successful COVID-era streaming series ISOL-AID, to being one half of indie-pop duo Wilson's Prom, and opening shows for the likes of Fanning Dempsey National Park, Magic Dirt, Ball Park Music, and more.
Milkpool takes a darker turn on the elegantly brooding 'Rosanna', which captures the fatalism of a disintegrating relationship with understated plucks and moody keyboards. ' No matter how good we get, I think we're in trouble' , Merpire laments, her vocals eventually digitally fractured against restless drums and wiry guitars.
Meanwhile, the introspective, acoustic 'Cinnamon' demonstrates her songwriting is just as effective when working with just a few key ingredients. Back-to-back, these tracks show how Merpire has developed from Simulation Ride .
She's now as confident leaning into bigger, more layered arrangements — alongside co-producer James Seymour — as she is paring back, such as the raw closer 'You Are Loved' where the scrapes of acoustic strings cuts as sharply as her yearning refrain of ' I am trying to remember I can be loved '.
Late album stand-out 'Internet' is a tender, piano-led number where the lovestruck singer punches questions into a search engine — both banal and profound. Between the song's blooming dynamics nestles a canny interrogation of how being online risks eroding meaningful connection: ' Wait … don't worry, my algorithm's working this one out.'
It's a great example of how the album smartly tows the line between serious and humorous. After all, Milkpool is named in honour of Merpire trusting her artistic instincts while wading into the unknown. And a classic joke from The Simpsons.
These 11 tracks possess immediate charm, but the more time you spend with them, the more their sincere takes on familiar subjects — love, lust, self-worth — reveal themselves to be unique.
Fans of Mitski and Japanese Breakfast will find plenty to love about Milkpool, which makes a convincing case for enshrining Merpire in a lineage of talented homegrown artists, from Courtney Barnett and Julia Jacklin to Angie McMahon and good friend Ruby Gill.
Milk Pool is out now. Catch Merpire at the following dates:
Friday August 15— Junk Bar: Turrbal Jagera Land, Brisbane
Saturday August 16 — Lazy Thinking: Gadigal Land, Sydney
Sunday August 17 — Smiths Alternative: Ngunnawal, Canberra
Thursday August 21 — Merri Creek Tavern: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Melbourne (sold out)
Thurs August 28 — Merri Creek Tavern: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Melbourne (sold out)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
The Bully
Everybody was worried about trade and never mind that a man died. And I thought the whole thing was really disgusting at the official level. Geraldine Brooks LISTEN TO Fallout: Spies on Norfolk Island is an SBS Audio production. Credits Created and hosted by Richard Baker. Produced by Liz Burnett. Sound Design and Mix by Max Gosford. Executive Producer is Joel Supple Artwork by Paolo Lim (The Illustration Room)
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
'Confidence' is the buzz word for apprentice Cobi Vitler who is making every post a winner
Speaking to trainers in the know in southeast Queensland, 'confidence' is the buzz word when it comes to appraising rising apprentice Cobi Vitler. The 25-year-old Englishman is impressing the right people in the region and he's being rewarded with more rides in the city. Of course his 3kg claim helps, but Vitler is showing enough promise to suggest he will still be well in the mix for the better rides when his apprenticeship ends. Deagon trainer Jack Bruce heaped praise on Vitler after he patiently steered eight-year-old Galifianakis to victory in a Benchmark 78 (1600m) at Eagle Farm last Saturday. And in an extraordinary sidenote, Vitler became the ninth different jockey to win on Galifianakis from nine victories since the gelding broke his maiden status in February 2023 at the Gold Coast, with Corey Bayliss onboard. 'He's riding really well, he's got confidence and he's being utilised by different trainers,' Bruce said about Vitler, who has been working in Australia for seven years under astute trainers such as Brett Cavanough in Scone and Lindsay Hatch in Toowoomba. 'I thought he rode Galifianakis confidently and patiently. He did a really good job. 'While he's got that good claim, it's particularly helpful. He first came on to my radar when he became an apprentice to Lindsay Hatch and started riding up here.' Vitler rode two winners on a Saturday meeting at Eagle Farm last month - Lead Me On for Chris Anderson and mare Wanda Rox for his mentor Hatch. 'He had to throw instructions out the gate when she was slow to go and he rode her good, I was very happy with him,' Hatch said about Vitler's effort on Wanda Rox. And then the critical word that all athletes need for success is mentioned again. 'He's riding with confidence and that helps,' Hatch added. 'When you ride winners, you ride with confidence. He's a good kid.' Vitler has six rides, all with different trainers, at a mid-week meeting at Doomben on Wednesday as demand for his services climbs. 'Like any apprentice, when they have a claim that makes them particularly valuable and often at that stage of their career when they're riding well and with confidence, they're certainly worth utilising,' Bruce said. 'For example Galifianakis at 63kg, I basically ran a Benchmark 85 horse in a 78 race and met at fairly level weights so that's the appeal of utilising his services. 'Obviously you take the risk that they'll make mistakes because they're learner drivers but if they don't (make errors) then you can run the horse six rungs below what it could've been racing.' Emily Lang is the undisputed queen of the Queensland apprentices but youngsters such as Cody Collis and 183cm-tall Corey Sutherland are making their marks, while Tasmania's Chloe Wells has joined Rob Heathcote's stable on a three-month loan. 'Like Emily Lang said this week, it's once you stop claiming that it gets hard but while you can claim you're very fashionable,' Bruce said. 'It's your opportunity to get out there and ride winners and learn what works and what doesn't. 'Cobi's got to use that opportunity to be valuable when he claims 2kg, then 1.5kg and eventually enough when he has to meet Ryan Maloney at level weights.'
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Father of three goes viral for taking horse to Bottle-O drive-thru in bid to save fuel
When Daryl Braithwaite said 'we'll be riding on the horses' in his 1991 hit, he probably didn't mean through the local Bottle-O. But 'that's the way it's gonna be' for an Aussie dad wanting to ditch fuel prices in the most Aussie way possible. Father of three Eathon White was on the way home from a trip to Kmart with his 13-year-old daughter for hair ties and blue tac, before making a very important pit stop. The pair atop of their horse, named Fox, were captured going through a Bottlemart drive-thru. In remarkable scenes, Mr White is seen pulling up to the window, while on the phone, before a worker steps out bringing two cans of bourbon and eftpos machine. Mr White then stuffs the cold beverages in his hoodie pockets, pays, and Fox swiftly trots off. 'The young bloke in the Bottle-O sort of turned his head and said 'what the hell's that?' and I said, 'yeah mate, you're looking at it. It's a horse in a drive-thru Bottle-o,'' Mr White said on the Today Show. 'He said, 'yeah but what do you want?' I said, 'a drink mate. I'm on my home, I'm thirsty.'' Mr White, a truck driver, said he already spends close to $200 a week on fuel, but has instead decided to leave his motorised vehicles at home for local trips around town in a bid to save the extra cash. 'It costs me nothing to ride him up the street and it makes people smile and it makes people happy and joyful and everyone stops and says hello. Nobody does that when you're driving a car,' he said. 'My daughter said to me, 'are you going to drink them on the way home?' 'I said 'No, I'm going to wait until I get home,' because I'm pretty sure the rules are the same for if you're riding a horse you're not allowed to ride and drink as if you are drinking and driving.' Mr White said travelling on horseback provide his kids with a sense of adventure unseen since technology took off and could do the same for others. 'They're stuck on their phones, they're getting anxiety ridden, depression ridden. No drive to do anything. Put them on a horse and they'll want to be outside all day, every day,' he said. Today show host Karl Stefanovic chose to see the funny side. 'So you're drinking-horsing and texting at the same time, with your 13-year-old in the back. This is why I love this country. We're taking the country back champion.' The next adventure: Mickey-D's. 'They want to ride on the railway line back into town and then go back up the other way so they get a good ride in and go through the drive-thru at Macca's.'
