The Merrier’s “Cyclical” — yeah it’s real sick.
- theagencywav
- Jan 30, 2022
- 4 min read
Ohio-based collaborative dream pop project The Merrier released their debut EP “Cyclical” this past, January 28. If you're unfamiliar, The Merrier is simultaneously a one-man project and a collaborative piece at the same time. With one person (Jake Stephens) arranging, performing, and recording almost all of the instrumentals on his own, and recruiting multiple musicians to write lyrics and provide vocals to make each song complete. The different vocalists really allow each song to feel like a stand alone piece, while the familiar instrumentals still unify them as songs that definitely belong together. All together, “Cyclical” is a really interesting project, so let’s break it down.
The first song “BMO” featuring Biitchseat and BLUEVALLEY is upbeat and very fun. The drum machine and synth create a really futuristic bubblegum pop vibe. The song begins with Talor of Biitchseat singing, who’s vocals cut clear through the space-y atmosphere created. Kikumi of BLUEVALLEY’s voice comes in as a distant far away whisper, almost contributing to the airy feeling rather than cutting through it, and contrasting Bitchseat’s crisp voice. The way that Talor and Kikumi’s vocals meld so well together in one song really just speaks to how carefully these artists have been put together. It isn’t easy to make such a collaborative project, and find multiple artists that can fit together so seamlessly, so the way that these artists all compliment eachother in this song is really impressive.
The next song, “Cathedral” featuring Ponz, the Angel has more alternative influences than the bubblegum upbeat energy in the first song. While the instrumentals are still staying true to their bedroom pop roots, Ponz, the Angel’s solo work is primarily rap music, and much of that influence bleeds through in this song and gives it a different kind of grit than in “BMO”
The third song, “Gold”, featuring Zinnie is reminiscent of indie pop. With the addition Of what sounds like a ukelele, and a bass line that carries the song, “Gold” is really reminiscent of artists like Addison Grace, or mxmtoon. It’s in this song where Zinnie sings “its cyclical yeah it’s real sick / there’s never gonna be an easy fix / it’s cyclical yeah it’s real sick / I’ve never known anything but this” — which is a fun nod to the EP’s title. This song itself is cyclical, repeating the same few lines throughout. This is both very fitting based on the lyrics , but makes the song easy to catch onto, so listeners are able to sing along by the end of the first listen, and that ability is really cool.
The fourth song “Venus” includes the addition of an acoustic guitar, which gives this song a different feel to the songs prior. “Venus” is the only song on the EP without a credited feature, but the singer on this track is credited as Una Hanley on The Merrier’s bandcamp, and their voice was offers a really dreamy energy to this song. This song is also the first song we hear where the lyrics are credited to Jake Stephens, the instrumentalist behind The Merrier, and lyrics like “everyone wants to look through the past / we’re correcting everything that lasts / If we could send a rocket to the moon / why haven’t we found a star / as pretty as you?” It’s impossible not to fall in love with this song. Una dreamily singing about the moon and the stars is the perfect overlay to how space-y the rest of this feels.
The second to last song “Vaminos” featuring Ponz, the Angel and Masakiio takes on a more hyperpop sound. Much of this EP sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a video game, and this song especially drives that feeling home. Between the auto-tuned, and very catchy chorus, and inclusion of rap in this song, we’re again impressed by The Merrier’s ability to adapt and perform so many different sounds and meld so well with so many different artists. The light instrumentals contrasting against Masakiio’s rapping make for a really interesting sound, and this song is all around really fun to listen to.
The final song “Scenery” featuring Superdestroyer can only be described as emo-adjacent. The distortion over the vocals and the prominent bass line make still recognizable as a part of the overall dreamy EP, but the bridge in the song, where it slows down for a moment and the lyrics sing “I would do anything / to make sure that you’re happy / because you make me happy / I hope that I make you happy” feels like a slice of emo if I’ve ever heard one. Ending on this slow section, with the vocals almost isolated also felt like a really complete ending to the EP as a whole.
By the time we finished listening to “Cyclical”, not only did we walk away with a new favorite EP to listen to, but also with 6 more artists to check out afterwards, which is the coolest part of this collaborative project. Every song on this EP sounds like it’s straight out of an episode of a show Adventure Time or Steven Universe, and that sound is both incredibly creative, and really lovely on the ears. We cannot recommend this EP enough, and are beyond excited to look into all of the artists featured as well.
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