On her YouTube channel Meels has included a playlist which details the ‘visual world’ of her new EP Across the Raccoon Strait. Included in this list are videos from TV shows Hee Haw, Gunsmoke, Free to Be You & Me, songs by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Muppets and Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton singing ‘Jolene’ on the Porter Wagoner Show, Roy Clark doing ‘Gentle on my Mind’ and the cartoon title sequence to Grease. This eclectic and irreverent selection tells you everything you need to know about the musical sensibilities of the artist known as Meels, whose music she describes as ‘critter country’.
Previously Meels (real name Amelia Einhorn) released an album of decent indie folk songs more in the Phoebe Bridgers style of confessionals, and this switch up in her style feels like a very wise choice considering how ubiquitous that sound is right now. Instead of just being another sad girl singing her woes, she has deliberately leaned into something slightly more kooky and offbeat, inspired by Sierra Ferrell with added humour akin to Kacey Musgraves.
Opener ‘Out West’ is a nod to her Californian roots, with its Western style sound and looping ‘woohoos’ creating an infectious feel to the song. The equally catchy ‘Vultures’ follows, a song which has been stuck in my head from the minute I heard the strange tale of roadkill, unrequited love, drinking, and how you feel when you accidentally kill a fly.
Meels’s appreciation for classic country music is clear on ‘Old Mill Valley’ where she sings a tribute to a run down town, one that’s changing so much she wants to ‘bring back the freaks’.
The strangely hypnotic ‘Willow Song’ tells the tale of her trying to connect with nature, and the potentially painful pitfalls. She wryly concludes ‘at least the painkillers around here are cheap.’ The humorous slant to her lyricism is fresh and fun.
‘Praise the Sheep’ is a twee little ditty that could be children’s music, celebrating all the sweetness of the natural world. The production is made to sound vintage enough to give it that effortless charm and stop anything from becoming too saccharine.
On ‘The Wizard’ we hear a darker side to the artist’s struggles, with a song inspired by her experience with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Still, the song retains a cheerfully, upbeat tone despite admitting her mind is ‘full of fleas’. Final song ‘Marsha June’ is a melancholic tribute to her wild grandmother, who was also a musician and owned a pet monkey.
There’s a gently weird whimsy to the music on this EP which is endearing and a welcome contrast to the grim winter season we’re in just now. The twee revival is long overdue and Meels shows that letting your freak flag fly is always a good idea.
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