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Merykid's concept album 'The Raccoon' pays off

The album as a piece of art has a long and twisty history. From long-form classical pieces with movements (which could be considered analogous to songs) to musicals in the first half of the twentieth century to proggy concept albums in the ’70s and now, there has always been some idea that individual pieces of music can compose a greater whole. Merykid‘s The Raccoon brought up these thoughts of history, as the album can’t be considered as anything but an album.

There are few to no verse/chorus/verse structures here. This is not an album surrounding a single; there is no single. This is an album for the sake of an album. The music only enhances this, as it is a mishmash of synth-driven downtempo/trip-hop, glitchy electronic beats, found sounds and acoustic guitar work.

Furthermore, it starts out with a stressful spoken word drama underscored by acoustic guitar, strings, a few electronics and the found sound of a train station. The boy is leaving the girl and getting on the train. The girl is dramatically hurt. The boy leaves anyway, making her promise that she won’t wait for him.

That’s the setup for the rest of the album. Yes, this an ambitious album.

Does it succeed? It’s very coherent musical piece of work, even with the mix of acoustic and electronic songs. There’s a solid balance of emotions and space to let them happen; Merykid never tries to pack too much into a song. His vocals are solid and interesting throughout, especially shining on the good-use-of-autotune “Two Wrongs.” The album flows excellently, as he knows how to use interludes and instrumental pieces to enhance the album’s atmosphere.

Lyrically, it’s a bit on the short end of the stick, as it took me scrounging through the press materials again to figure out exactly what was happening. Given the strong start to the narrative, it’s a bit disappointing that I couldn’t follow the path too closely. Thankfully, he does lay everything out in the final track.

Merykid’s The Raccoon is a very interesting, engaging piece of work that demands to be considered as a whole unit. If you’re willing to give it the attention it asks for and requires, you’ll find some unique and interesting moments within. It’s definitely a successful album, but I feel that the best is still yet to come from Merykid.