By Charlie Maybee
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D.C.-based alternative pop band, Merci, is back with a lyric video for their new single “Stallion” which clashes the sound of pop music against a snapshot of a renaissance style painting that slowly expands and contracts like meditative breath to a chill beat. The focal point of the painting is a white stallion, which manages to move beyond the frame of painting as the size of the painting gets bigger and smaller with each inhale and exhale.
Lyrically, Merci points to the beast of burden’s plight as a metaphor to show that he is not willing to be prized one minute and discarded the next. As he arrives at the chorus, he sings, “I’m not tryna be your stallion / Find someone else to break,” which thematically sums up his distaste for being used for another’s personal gain.
The kind of relationship that this metaphor applies to seems to be up for interpretation, but there is something interesting about the clashing tones of modern pop with classic renaissance visual art mediated by the titular stallion that makes the overall feel of this lyric video timeless.
When all is said and done, “Stallion” is a single soaked in pop music feel and structure that fans of Post Malone or even bands like Coldplay and Bastille will find immensely enjoyable. It’s full of introspection, but not closed off to emotive listening.
“Stallion” is available on all major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Napster, YouTube, Deezer, and TIDAL. The accompanying lyric video is also available on YouTube.
This track has been added to our Alchemical Weekly YouTube Playlist.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
