Meric Long – A Small Act of Defiance
Meric Long spent two decades making tightly wound indie rock with the Dodos, then shifted to engineering at Oakland’s Tiny Telephone Studios. His first solo album under his name started with his daughter’s toy drum kit and ended with “Kablooey,” which dropped on October 24 on Polyvinyl.
“A Small Act of Defiance” carries the nervous energy Long perfected with the Dodos but adds production tricks he picked up behind the boards. Fuzzed-out bass drives the track forward, while saxophonist Forrest Day’s horns punctuate the urgency. Long recorded everything else himself, often working late after finishing other artists’ sessions.
Lyrically, he’s sounding an alarm before it’s too late: “We’re on a fast track down to hell / Thinking it’s some heaven you built.” The pummelling percussion and syncopated saxophones create the sensation of careening down a steep San Francisco street, waiting for someone to pull the emergency brake.
Long says he wanted to recapture the spontaneity of playing guitar in his bedroom as a kid. He mic’d up his daughter’s drums, added guitar and vocals without overthinking, and let songs come together quickly.
Long released one album under the FAN nickname back in 2018, but this marks his proper solo debut under his name since the pre-Dodos “Dodo Bird” EP. The Dodos’ last album “Grizzly Peak” came out in 2021, and while the duo hasn’t officially called it quits, Long’s clearly enjoying the freedom to follow his own impulses.
Tracklist:
- Split Decision
- Exit Forward
- A Small Act of Defiance
- Maybe I Forgot
- 1+1
- Closer
- Rinse and Repeat
- Is This It
- Slowburn
