Melodic pop-rock hooks, clever lyrics that sometimes err on the side of smart-ass, epic rock riffs and ballads that would melt the hearts of even the hardest of nzgirls.
Now imagine them all together on one album…one very cohesive album. Unconvinced it could work? Well wait til you hear Thirsty Merc’s 13-track debut self-titled album.
Thirsty Merc consists of Rai Thistlewayte on vocals, lead guitar and piano, Matt Baker on guitar, Phil Stack on bass and backing vocals and Karl Robertson on drums. Soon after the release of the album, guitarist Matt Baker left the band and was replaced by Sean Carey.
When the band members came together to form Thirsty Merc, Rai and Phil had been into jazz and R&B while Matt and Karl had been playing rock/pop. Their backgrounds in these genres are evident on the album. The surprising thing is that the fusion works, and works well.
The rock-pop epics on the album had me singing along after only one listen. I liked the catchy anthem of an opener, ‘My Completeness’, and the slightly rockier, ‘Katie Q’. And after several listens of the album these songs are yet to become annoying, which would be bound to happen were they throw-away rock-pop songs.
And I’m usually not a fan of heartfelt ballads (I prefer my snacks to be saccharine not my music), but Thirsty Merc’s ballads have a certain edge to them which quells any sign of the gag-reflex.
There’s also a third type of song on this album. They’re the clever ‘smart-ass’ type I mentioned earlier.
The standouts being ‘Emancipate Myself’, and the very cleverly titled ‘I Wish Somebody Would Build A Bridge (So I Can Get Over Myself)’. They’re slightly cynical and are bound to have you smirking. I did mention they were an Aussie band didn’t I? Well with lyrics like “munching on a ham and cheese sando in the morning on Friday, cruising down the Pacific Highway, thinking 'bout the day ahead” you probably would have come to that conclusion yourself.
The balance of the different influences of genres on this album is what makes it refreshing likeable. And the smart-ass Aussie battler attitude makes it even more unique. Check it out.
Melodic pop-rock hooks, clever lyrics that sometimes err on the side of smart-ass, epic rock riffs and ballads that would melt the hearts of even the hardest of nzgirls. 
There’s also a third type of song on this album. They’re the clever ‘smart-ass’ type I mentioned earlier.