Heartbreaking Bravery

Jeff Meff has always been an enigmatic songwriter. Hell, that’s a fact that was evidenced by his constantly-changing moniker. Bad History Month, Sad History Month, Fat History Month, it never mattered, the results were always the same; distinctly original and absurdly rewarding. A perennial staple of both the bedroom-pop and basement punk scene in Boston, Merr’s built his reputation on slightly left-of-center songs that all seem to come spilling out to provide some sort of blanket for his astounding lyricism. Of course, true to those styles, none of it gets played up in the slightest; it’s all given equal footing and is intertwined enough to be relatively inseparable. It’s difficult to isolate just one element of the songwriting on display here, the first glimpse at his upcoming split with Dust From 1,000 Years, especially. The song’s entitled “Staring At My Hands” and the split itself is called Famous Cigarettes and will be released via Exploding in Sound. “Staring At My Hands” is about as bare and naturalistic as Merr gets and it’s a jarring change of pace from last year’s manic (and extraordinary) Bad History Month (which was released under the moniker Fat History Month). If Famous Cigarettes lives up to what’s suggested by “Staring At My Hands” and winds up being as thrilling a listen as Bad History Month was, then Merr will have decisively positioned himself as one of the best songwriters currently making music. It’s time to start paying attention.

Listen to “Staring At My Hands” below and make sure to check out his project’s already extensive discography by exploring either of the hyperlinks up above.