Known for his run in Canadian pop-rock mainstays Zeus, Mike O'Brien has announced his debut solo album under his new moniker, Meko Brain. Wonderment is due to arrive through Victory Pool Records on October 9, and today, we get a taste of the effort with "New Low."
Recorded at All Day Coconut Studios by Gavin Gardiner, mixed by Robbie Lackritz and featuring the contributions of Jason Haberman on bass and Don Kerr on drums, the album, like so many projects in recent years, came out of the pandemic, with O'Brien given a new lease on life during lockdowns. "Songwriting, in some ways, is like a check-in with yourself," he shared. "Are you doing your best? Are you showing up for those you love?"
Today, the artist previews the collection with second single "New Low," which O'Brien describes as a "dance song about self-pity." He elaborated in a statement:
Many of my other songs have a more acoustic folk sound so I wanted to bridge the more acoustic, organic folky sounds with this slinky pop song. I love how it turned out. I ended up layering the vocal several times to get a wide yet intimate sound. It all culminates with a satisfying fuzzed-out guitar riff to bring it home! As for the lyrical idea, I started to form this idea of a guy who knows his partner is being unfaithful but doesn't want it rubbed in his face. If it's not stated out loud then he can continue to carry on the charade that he doesn't know what's going on. So in a sense, it became a dance song about self-pity. I wanted to make a video that matched this idea but in a not-too-literal way, so we enlisted Jack Harrison who created an amazingly simple yet effective video that matches the song's mood perfectly!
Check that out below, where you can also find the album's tracklist.
Wonderment:
1. Anyone Else's Eyes
2. Say the Word
3. You Still Belong
4. Brush It Off
5. Come on Back
6. New Low
7. Take Me as You Will
8. Born Free
9. Warm Wind
10. The Old Days
11. If It's Autumn
12. Hallelujah Goodnight