CementingMerk(aka Mark Perkins) as one of Aotearoa’s finest indie artists, Infinite Youth features recent singles ‘H.N.Y.B’ and ‘GOD’, the latter receiving spins on BBC Radio 6, plus a ‘Day In The Life’ feature on SPIN. Infinite Youth is an exciting new chapter for Merk as he finds himself pushing new creative boundaries.
This is an album that is on its most basic level homemade: iPhone voice memos abound,Perkins’ aunt’s voice lingers in the background of one track, a crappy USB interface and borrowed gear make up so much of the work’s foundation. However, even on first glance, the expanse it takes in is clear as a listener moves below the album’s surface: every metaphor on “Laps Around The Sun'' is circular, the lyrics on “But She Loves You” respond directly to the movements of the melody they accompany, the iPhone recording of Side A closing track “Canoe Song” foreshadows the motifs of Side B closing track “Infinite Youth”.
An album that will capture you on first listen and then reward your every repetition,Infinite YouthreintroducesMerkand invites you, warmly, into his orbit.
