On their sophomore effort Pavlova’s Dog, Ontario-based four-piece The Meringues make a frenetic mix of dance-punk and pop that recalls everyone from Gang Of Four and Sparks to Weezer and Wet Leg.
Across 11 tracks, dueling vocalists Amanda Pants and Ted Evans trade off turns at the mic. There is an immediacy to the music, starting with the frantic album opener, “Shambles,” that does not let up for the next 30 minutes or so. Among the strongest tracks on the record is the early single, “Royalty,” a song about being let down by someone you really looked up to, backed by an amped-up rhythm section and an impressive guitar line snaking through the song. And while the dual vocals are a definite trademark for the band, it’s the instrumentation that comes across as the most compelling here. “I recorded guitar for so many hours, icing my arm between takes and living off energy drinks,” admits Evans.
Elsewhere, the track “Outta Time,” backed by a bouncy bass line, compliments of Jackson Baird, and steady drumming by Alastair Morrison, the band have their best moment on the record. The song is less cluttered, Evans and Pants don’t seem to be competing against the music to be heard and as a result the song comes across as much more playful. The album closes on “70 Lemon Trees,” another raucous number that careens for the full three-and-a-half minutes.
The one drawback to an otherwise solid record, as highlighted by the outlier “Outta Time,” is how little variety there seems to be to the songs here. Just about all come across as sprints, with the band going full throttle from the opening chords, leaving little breathing room (for the band or the listener) or time for the music to ebb and flow.
The band is known for their explosive live shows and Pavlova’s Dog does an admirable job of trying to capture the spirit of those shows, but a little variety to their music would go a long way.
