Playing House
Karisma, 2021
9/10
An 8 piece outfit from Norway who reside somewhere between orchestral, symphonic and classical rock, Meer operate in a very unique spot with their progressive ideas that embrace melody, harmonies and plenty of unpredictable songwriting across these 11 tracks.
The fascinating album leads with “Picking Up The Pieces”, as inviting keys open and soaring strings, pretty vocals from Johanne Kippersund and a symphonic landscape follow, and “Beehive” continues the setting with prog-rock inspired song craft that’s both graceful and adventurous.
Closer to the middle, “Child” takes a soulful approach where plenty of nostalgic rock nods are present, while “You Were A Drum” makes great use of playful drumming by Mats Lillehaug amid charming vocal acrobatics. “Honey”, one of the album’s best, then mixes busy bouts with sparse moments in a climate that’s not short on melody and mature songwriting.
Deeper still, the firm “She Goes” then gets theatrical with Ole Gjostol’s pounding keys, but also retreats to bare mystery, and “Lay It Down” exits the listen with a majestic, gripping display of soaring chamber rock that we could never tire of.
Straddling both minimal moments with maximalist textures, Playing House is nothing if not unique, as Meer pen a sophomore album that impresses immensely and somehow still gets better with each subsequent listen.
Travels well with: Wobbler- Dwellers Of The Deep; De Press- Body Manifest