MEER – Wheels Within Wheels
Release Date: 23rd August 2024
Label: Karisma Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Prog-Pop, Progressive Rock, Symphonic Rock.
FFO: Anekdoten, Porcupine Tree, Bent Knee, Major Parkinson, newer Anathema, Wobbler, Leprous, Earthside, Bent Knee, Tesseract.
Review By: Andy Spoon
It’s like Meer sat down and thought of every moody and melancholic chord progression that existed and decided to make songs out of each one of them. If you’re a fan of prog, this is going to touch a lot of your favorite buttons. At a couple of points, I thought that this would be an amazing soundtrack to a proggy metal-derived broadway show, which is something I didn’t really think that I’d say a lot. This is definitely one of the “gateway” bands that bridges the gap between genres. I think that the smooth-as-butter vocals as well as the symphonic orchestration is just a blend of dramatic and thematic that tickles the brain in a good way.
I found that the blend of the silky-smooth male vocals with female vocals was executed in a perfect way that isn’t always done with such a blend. I think that the best example of this is the single off the album, Golden Circle. The overall blend of the symphonic-cinematic was just done in such a thrilling way, that it was hard not to want to spin the track over and over again. I wasn’t really a fan of Meer before I heard this track, but I feel like I’ve missed out for many years. I’m actually kind of glad that I was able to learn about them before I got too-late into the band’s discography. I really like being able to anticipate what they are going to do next. Thankfully, I think that Meer has a lot of life ahead of them if Wheels Within Wheels is any indication of what these folks are capable of.
Sometimes, you can hear bands that really understand the music, rather than just the execution. Anyone can really pick up a guitar and learn to play a formulaic rhythm that will eventually start to sound acceptable. I think that there are some bands that come from musical backgrounds, perhaps academically, perhaps informally. Obviously, prog rock and metal is a funnel for people like this, perhaps as well as their fans. I think that Meer seem to be one of the bands who really wanted to make music that was not just musically-palatable, but dynamically-pleasing to the music nerd in many of us who dream of perfectly-executed crescendos or the jazzy-refrains that seem like they are meant to appeal to the prog fan.
In a big world where there is not enough thoughtful music, I think that a little bit of pop-prog goes a long way for me. I believe that Meer seems to stimulate my mind in a way that makes me feel hopeful and thoughtful. I remember working as a church musician for almost 2 decades before I lost much of my enthusiasm for the church and the religion I’ve questioned for many years now. I think that Meer reminds me of the days where music could “take you to church”, in a way where the ethereal and the spiritual were summoned by music. For some reason, there’s comfort in that for me. Perhaps my bias to “pretty” spiritual music tends to give me a little bit of an axe to grind in this matter. That’s not to say that I think Meer is spiritual or religious in any way. I just find that the exact same part of my brain that was stimulated by the old life I’d lived before I’d lost my faith is the same part of my brain which Wheels Within Wheels seemed to ignite for a few moments.
I think that the usage of the symphonics as well as the single male and single female vocal is a perfect blend of tones. Track after track was just so beautiful and stimulating. I think that there is some element of the eternal on the album that manages to precipitate from my mind, even though I spend much of my time listening to extreme music these days. I really believe that much like Bent Knee, Meer is onto something unique and beautiful that needs to be shared and heard. I would absolutely love to see a live performance of this album front-to-back with the entire string section. In all, I highly-recommend checking this album out if you’ve had any experience with prog-pop.
(4.5 / 5)
