After two years in purgatory, WORRIED SICK is here – Meres’ long overdue debut full-length album, pressed on classic 12” black vinyl. Ten tracks of doom-pop, snack-rock, and existential flailing – all held together by fuzzed-out guitars and the overwhelming sense that nothing makes sense, but you care anyway.
True to its name, the debut album from the Tasmanian four-piece is a culmination of the constant and jarring existential dread that exists within the current age. A loud, anxious, genre-dodging love letter to trying. Written from the edge of burnout, it traverses grief, climate dread, professional small talk, identity crises, and the absurdity of functioning under capitalism.
The 10 songs on WORRIED SICK range from the dire post-punk sensibilities and societal churning of ‘Ocean View’, through to soul-baring, cleverly textured love songs like ‘Building Humans’, the quiet devastation and mental struggle of ‘Holding On’, to the explosively satirical social critique of ‘Quiet Australians’. From introspective poetry to catchy pop hooks, Meres takes us on a journey through life’s big questions, leaving a lasting impression.
Mary Shannon – main songwriter, lyricist and front person of the band – tends to write out of necessity (for if she didn’t, it would be one step closer to the grave). Her thought-provoking lyrics delve into the complexities of human existence, flowing effortlessly between rhyming pop song bop, to more eloquent streams of consciousness, drawing on elements of poetry and use of words for the sake of the sound and shape that they make.
Shannon says: “I think there’s something really cool about having to search for your own meaning within the lyrics of songs. Some of my favourite songwriters are exceptionally good at weaving a world out of words. Words themselves are excellent, and I feel like not enough of them get an opportunity to show up in songs, and many aren’t used in daily life. I was raised by a librarian so a head in books has always had me fascinated by language.”
Meres’ debut 10-track album WORRIED SICK, Produced by Anna Laverty (Stella Donnelly, Camp Cope), engineered by Ben Simms (A. Swayze & the Ghosts), and mixed by Justin Pizzoferrato (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., The Pixies) is out independently on vinyl and digital via Bandcamp now.
To celebrate the album release, Meres will hit the stage in May 2025, and it may very well be the last time you see the band in its current configuration:
Launceston – Saturday 3 May @ The Royal Oak with Chamberwoman & Golden Sunbird – Tickets
Hobart – Saturday 10 May @ The Grand Poobah with Slaughterhaus Surf Cult & HUNKS – Tickets
Release: April 25, 2025, Independent
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