Meaursault – Something for the Weakened (2012, Song, By Toad Records)
Edinburgh’s Meursault have been gaining acclaim and attention across the UK and Europe over the past few years, most notably for 2010’s outstanding All Creatures Will Make Merry. A blend of folk, baroque pop and, at times, electronic music, Meursault is led by one Mr. Neil Pennycook, who possesses a mastery over those melodic now-I’m-singing-now-I’m-screaming emotive bursts matched only by Okkervil River’s Will Scheff. Pennycook is a tremendous songwriter, capable of producing both grand gestures and tiny set pieces. Something for the Weakened builds on Meursault’s excellent body of work, available on Edindburgh’s venerable Song, By Toad Records. The lead single, “Flittin’,” rides a simple rhythmic pattern through all sorts of soaring intensity. “Settling” and “Dull Spark” pull off similar building epic-ness while closers “Mamie” and “Untitled” are beautifully executed ballads. Easily my favorite album of 2012 so far.