Children of Desire

Children of Desire

Children of Desire—the second LP from Florida's Merchandise—is another stunning collection of classic-feeling post-punk that's both beautifully, viscously barbed and delicately melancholic. It's remarkable how these Americans expertly reignite the passions triggered by '80s groups like Echo & The Bunnymen, The Smiths, and The Jesus & Mary Chain. (Merchandise has much in common with The Horrors, a band that, we note, is British.) The guitars throw off shards of white light, organs swirl, drums ring with reverb, and vocalist Carson Cox has a lovely, soft baritone that swoons and wails in the emotional palette that Morrissey once ruled. Congas race incongruously through "In Nightmare Room" (and they're awesome), while the 11-minute beauty "Become What You Are" ebbs and flows with a gorgeous, bittersweet melody until, at about six minutes in, it morphs into a hungry maelstrom of guitar distortion atop Cox's smooth vocals and a Sufi-worthy, trance-driven rhythm. Every song here is to be savored, and you might want to get in on these guys before they become the Next Big(ger) Thing.

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