Merit Maker – Better Days Ahead

Merit Maker – Better Days Ahead – Album Review

Sometimes it’s the strangest things that catch my attention.

Like the statement that Merit Maker is “bringing Punk Rock back,” for example.

Yeah?  I’m not opposed to the mission, though I’m probably less convinced that it’s gone anywhere.  I believe what this Joe Stanton-led band is referring to is like…an aspect of Punk Rock?  A certain branch of the Punk Rock sound?  Because when you’re listening to Merit Maker, it’s not like you’re sitting there thinking to yourself, I haven’t heard this sound since Black Flag, No Means No, Sex Pistols, Bad Religion, DOA, or even The Ramones…we’re talking about a much more modernized strain of the sound, where you had acts like Blink 182, Gob, and Sum 41 giving the Punk vibe a much more distinct Pop dimension as opposed to the typical Hardcore sound that was originally associated with the genre.  Again, nothing wrong with that…but yeah…some clarification is required to fully understand that statement of theirs.

I’d reckon they feel like they got it right this time around though.  I’ve been listening to Merit Maker since 2021, and there’s a lot about Better Days Ahead that feels like they’ve found that sweet spot for their music at long last.  Don’t get me wrong, you can read past reviews I’ve written on them and there is verifiable proof to be found that supports the fact that they’ve always put out something worth listening to on the inside of a set-list, but this record does feel a bit tighter than what I’ve experienced from them in the past overall.  Right from the drop, you’ve got “Set It Straight” bursting outta the gates with a gritty take on the Punk/Pop sound…it’s got a bit of noticeable edge to it…a sonic chip on its shoulder…and it’s working for me.  In its most intense moments, “Set It Straight” hits a bit harder than a lot of what you’ll go on to find on Better Days Ahead, but it’s really well-balanced out by the melodic vocals you’ll find within the last half of the track as well.  In any event, this is a solid first impression that gets the energy flowin’ quickly, and it’s got a great hybrid sound to it that should be exciting to most of you listeners out there.  I was stoked to hear “Set It Straight” come out with such noticeable confidence from the band and such engaging sound…that tells me that Merit Maker believes in this new material.  Spots like the bass breakdown heading into the second minute, right before bringing back that gripping intensity for the chorus/finale…I mean…the band is clearly firing on all cylinders at the end of this track.

“Feelings First” goes a long way to support the argument that they’re “bringing Punk Rock back” – again, through the Blink 182-esque facet of that particular genre.  To be truthful though, this is where things can work both for and against them.  Look at it this way – I don’t think Merit Maker could have possibly replicated the Blink 182 sound any better than they have on “Feelings First” – it’s as bang on as it could ever get, and that’s clearly what they set out to do.  On the flipside of that coin however, is a potential trade for some of their own identity.  Lemme explain it as clearly as I can.  If you were to have put on “Feelings First” and I was unaware that I was listening to Merit Maker, I would have 100% told you that I’m actually listening to Blink 182 – that’s how dialed into the sound they are on this particular track.  So on the one hand, they obviously accomplished what they set out to do, and considering you’d have to assume that Blink 182 are heroes to the dudes in Merit Maker, that’s gotta make’em blush a little bit.  On the other hand, that separation between what they’re doing and what others have done, has all but disappeared.  It’s all about what the goals are…and only Merit Maker knows what they want to do in that regard.  “Feelings First” is a great tune, and brilliantly well-executed too…all I’m saying is that there is a whole lot less in this song for listeners to be able to definitively tie what they’re hearing, to them.

“The Stolen Hearts” would likely be a decent choice as a single to represent the album…I wouldn’t be opposed to this song as a gateway in, and I’d at least be curious enough to wonder what else I might find on Better Days Ahead.  I have a few moments here & there where I’m less jazzed about the choppiness of simple syllable lyricism that follows too much of a noticeable pattern, but I love the music on this cut.  Spots like around the 2:30 mark where they diversify the sound more than we’re used to…that’s a good idea and it’s effective here.  Of all the ingredients, it’s probably the vocals that hold this track back a bit more than they might have liked when it comes to its appeal, but it’s still well within the sound they were directly going for, and the vocals still SOUND good tone-wise – it’s just the fairly predictable pattern they’re stuck in that might have a tougher time holding up over the years to follow.  Maybe.  Time will always tell the story on that when it comes right down to it, but heck, even if it started to show a little wear and tear in the years to come, that’s fairly true of all single-worthy tunes too, ain’t it?  I ain’t really complaining about what I hear on “The Stolen Hearts” when it comes right down to it, I’m just observing.  All-in-all, I think they’ve got a cut here that fans of their style of Punk are pretty sure to love.  Personally speaking, I would have loved to hear a lot of what they do in the finale occur a bit earlier on.

So yeah…don’t get me wrong, if you dig the style of what Merit Maker is doing, you’re bound to dig it all.  I think they get a little too focused on pairing the vocals alongside the music at times, where both are somewhat forced to flow in the same way, but I ain’t disputing that it’s a tried, tested, and true recipe that they’re borrowing from.  It works and people love it.  Like…I’d tell you that the chorus of “Around Again” really ain’t my thing based on how strict it adheres to the rhyme scheme, but I’m just as sure that where there might be one dissenting opinion like mine, there are hundreds of rabid fans way happier to sing along.  And so there you have it, right?  Who would you cater to?  Joe and his crew are performing their songs with full Punk professionalism that would easily rival what you hear in the mainstream acts that have made their living off of similar sounds, so it’s high time that Merit Maker gets a piece of that, isn’t it?  Plus, Sum 41 has abandoned the throne, and someone’s gotta fill that void, right?  “Around Again” is catchy…I’m not gonna push back against that.  I think the band still has plenty of room to expand on what they do with a bit more descriptive/imaginative lyricism and some variation in their vocal melodies & such, but if that’s not what they want to pursue, then I’d say they’re doing just fine.

When it comes right down to it, simplified syllables and less complexity in the lyricism can certainly help with the metering, and I feel like that’s kind of the trade-off here.  The musicianship is super tight on this record, and you’ve gotta hand it to them for that.  “Two Steps Ahead” is like, what, their third single-worthy track in a row now?  Complexity doesn’t ever equate to accessibility, and that’s something I’m sure Merit Maker is well aware of…so they’re keeping the ingredients minimal, the recipe simple, and the results are coming out crystal clear, seamless, and perfected.  Like I’ve said many times on these pages of ours – it’s not always about recreating the wheel to begin with, and for anyone out there to put out a ‘perfect’ song…I mean…that’s ALWAYS an achievement.  We’re always going to have debates about what could or couldn’t appeal to us as individuals based on our own personal taste & whatnot, but when you’re bringing your A-game to what you create, you give every song a chance at being heard.  Merit Maker sounds impressive on Better Days Ahead, and songs like “Two Steps Ahead” confirm that they’re dialed right into the style of Punk they want to put out there.  Great trade off vocals between Joe and backing vocalist Giorgi Ostatishvili…like I said, don’t get it twisted, I understand their appeal.

Love the guitars from Mitchell Layton on “New Chapter.”  Honorable mention to Stanton’s vocals as they rise up mid-song to provide a bit more melody and energy into the song…and I also dig the effects and harmonies that you’ll hear in this tune as well before it’s all over.  As far as the song itself goes, like I’ve been getting at…I’ve got concerns about how beat-for-beat the vocal melodies can be, and it’s been pretty pronounced over the past several cuts to the point where we can’t help but notice there’s a lot less flexibility to that aspect of Merit Maker’s music.  Obviously it’s intentional by design, and I can’t fault them for their execution – they’re doing exactly what they want to do, and they’re doing it all with audible professionalism…there’s no problem with that.  Like I’ve been saying all along, the people that get Merit Maker and dig the sound they’ve got, are going to be completely stoked about what they find on Better Days Ahead, because the band is undeniably consistent and they’ve clearly put the work into their new material.  They sound remarkably well-rehearsed, and as a result, they’re getting their best onto each track as it rolls off the line…we might have comments about this or that when it comes to the stylistic choices they’re making, but I don’t think any of us would be able to find faults in their execution.

Love the breakdown they’ve added into “Upsides Of Downsides” and I’d love to hear Merit Maker flexing that kind of innovative gear a bit more, if only so that they can shine a brighter light on their instrumentation so that it gets the recognition it deserves.  Overall, I’d say there’s a bit more for me here on “Upsides Of Downsides” – I really like the way it starts, I think the chorus does something a little different than the rest of the record does, which makes it stand out for being a more tangibly unique idea.  The verses, I could probably take or leave, but I appreciate the way that the dynamics work and that the chorus wouldn’t likely feel or sound as strong as it does without having something more typical or straightforward beforehand.  Besides, we all want to hear that punch into the chorus of the songs we’re listening to anyway, right?  “Upsides Of Downsides” has that.  To me, even if I might not have fully loved the verses, the rest of this song was so damn good that there’s not a doubt in my mind that I feel like “Upsides Of Downsides” is one of the album’s best songs.  I think it’s ambitious, I think it’s more challenging for them as a band, and I think the results speak for themselves – I’d expect that a song like “Upsides Of Downsides” has every chance of being one of those songs that continually gets better and better the more you listen to it & that it’s got the kind of sound that’ll keep you coming back for more.  I mean, c’mon y’all…Joe sounds freakin’ fantastic in the chorus of this cut!  Is that because he sounds way more like him & way less like anyone else?  I’ll let you be the judge & jury on that – you know how I feel.

“Summer Days” is probably the cut that I’m most likely to forget pretty quickly.  Again, no real substantial objections to it or how it came out – they did what they could with the material, and it just kinda is what it is…good tune, but there are literally thousands upon thousands of cuts that sound way too much like this one does, and the big fear when it comes to hearing stuff that’s like that is that you end up drowning in the sea of sameness no matter how good something might be or how much effort it would take to make it that way.  Pretty straightforward to me though – there are things about “Upsides Of Downsides” that are highly memorable – and “Summer Days” just doesn’t have whatever that is.  Is it the kind of song that people would wanna turn up as they’re cruisin’ down the highway with the top down in the summer sun?  Sure!  Will they remember it next summer?  Like I said…time will tell y’all.  If anything, I’d tell you that “Summer Days” is a prime example of how Merit Maker really can’t lose when it comes to making the music they wanna make now, but a cautionary tale in terms of playing it too safe.

LISTEN to Blaise Rantanen on the drums back there on the throne will ya?  What kind of batteries does this guy take, how many does he need to keep the energy up like that, and why do they never need to recharge?  I have so many questions.  Dude’s impressive…for the most part, I feel like you could set your watch by the timing he has.  I like it when he goes with snare sounds that have a bit more depth to them than say, the less pronounced dull thud you hear from it in some of these songs, but there’s no disputing the chops he brings to the kit when you’re listening to tracks like “Feelings First” or “Liftoffs, Landings” that require his combination of precision and speed.  Where I struggle with “Liftoffs, Landings” is that I feel a lot similar towards this cut as I did with “Summer Days” in the sense that like…I dunno…now that I’ve had a taste of what they can do on a track like “Upsides And Downsides,” that’s kind of reset the whole standard for the record, you feel me?  It’s hard to not feel like some of the material past that point on the album ends up sounding a little paler by comparison, or missing that X-factor ingredient that would make you wanna come running back to it.  I’ll say this in defense of “Liftoffs, Landings” – the material possesses a bit more versatility than many of these songs seem to, but it didn’t really feel as noticeable and/or the changes they make didn’t quite create the same kind of lasting impact we’re hoping for.  The performances throughout Better Days Ahead have been its core strength – like, I’d go see Merit Maker play live, I’m sure it’s about as much fun as you could have seeing this kind of Punk-Pop music, and maybe even more-so now that the band’s got so much history, experience, and four records behind’em.

Musically, they probably end on the biggest highlight for their combined energy – the whole band sounds absolutely incredible playing together on “Roads Ahead” in the finale of Better Days Ahead.  I’ve still got issues with the lyrical decisions they make and the structure of the verses in that respect, but who cares?  I’m just one opinion in a sea of millions & millions on the internet, and I’ve been entirely truthful about how what Merit Maker and Joe does on the mic is still completely consistent with what you’d find in the genre/style they’re rocking with; it’s a seamless fit, and his performances have been great.  The more he’s been willing to branch out to the fringe, the more I’ve liked what I heard from him – but I also feel like those very same moments are the exact same ones that show us more of the identity to be found in Merit Maker’s sound…the stuff they wanna continue to explore so that they have all they need in their toolkit to separate themselves apart from the rest of what’s out there.  Love the drums from Rantanen once again on “Roads Ahead” and felt like this was definitely one of my favorite performances from him throughout the record.  Make no mistake, they’ve all played great, and I feel like they’ve got coherent material that’s well-conceived for the sound they’re choosing to play within.  It’s a direct appeal to a certain sound and a firm slice of the potential audience out there.  This ain’t no crossover record, you feel me?  Fans of the Punk-Pop vibe will find lots to enjoy on Better Days Ahead.

Find out more about Merit Maker from their official website at:  https://merit-maker.com

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