“It feels like there’s a real moment for Australian post-punk and punk bands brimming beyond their local scenes… it really feels like a golden period.”

Mere Women co-hosted our 100% local music show, The Bridge, with Ryan Saar last week – because no one loves Sydney bands like a Sydney band. Amy and Flyn from the Marrickville post-punk outfit shared a playlist of their favourite local tracks, including Orion, Big White, Seekae and HANNAHBAND.

The FBi favourites make music that’s brooding, dark and unsettling in all the right ways. Their most recent single ‘Numb’ was released on a split 7-inch vinyl with Melbourne’s Gold Class.

Ryan asked Amy and Flyn about this 7-inch and the resurgence of the split EP format, which seems tied to what he feels is a “golden period of Australian post-punk and punk”.

“It makes economic sense to do a split,” Amy said. “When I was younger and didn’t have any money at all, the only way to release music in a physical form was to do a split. That’s why everyone did it, it’s cheap! And you get together with mates and do it, then you go and tour it together. It’s super fun.”

It seems this homegrown band has always been proud of its roots. Celebrating some great venues within Sydney’s music scene, Mere Women made the point to thank Annandale’s Black Wire Records.

“We’ve definitely played heaps at Black Wire (over the past few years). It’s an open space, 100 people [capacity], you get to watch a band on the floor, it’s fantastic. It’s BYO, and essentially it is a punk venue. It’s just a really good space,” Flyn said.

“It’s a really inclusive space, it’s so friendly, it’s all ages. Even internationally touring bands play there,” Amy added.

Punk affinity aside, when Mere Women speak about their own music, they’re clearly willing to shift and blend genres within their work.

“We all come from different musical backgrounds, and that means the way we write music can be hard to pin to a genre. We don’t try to write music in a particular way,” Amy said.

With the addition of Trish Roberts on bass, an incredibly newfound dynamic has been brought to the band.

“Musically, she finds the space that was needed; she gets in between the guitars and the keys perfectly. People have said that after this many years it finally feels like they’re seeing Mere Women,” Flyn Said.

Mere Women’s live shows are regularly declared precise and potent.

“Every time that I sing a word, I try to sing it like it means something; otherwise it’s meaningless. So, I definitely think about what the song’s about when I’m singing it and try to embody it as much as I can,” Amy said.

The blend of classically trained musicianship and pure experience has led to something amazing with Mere Women. Catch their playlist here or revisit the interview by clicking on the link above.

Tracklisting

Mere Women – Numb
Seekae – Turbine Blue
Orion – Sexy Alien
Holy Balm – Fashion
Lovely Head – Here With Me
Hannahband – I Will Let You Down
Mere Women – Heave Ho
Big White – Dinosaur City
Mere Women – Drive