Mechner is the alter ego of Jack Ahern, who is a musical dreamer based in Ireland’s southernmost county of Cork. July sees the release of his new single “Wasted”, which is the third track off a mini-LP collection entitled “Club Idem”. The first of five releases that apparently combine to form a deft critique of a culture, that by its very nature can’t sit still. Mechner describes this aperitif as a hedonistic social experience as enticing as it is excessive. Mechner is the latest foray for Cork-based artist Jack Ahern, characterised as “Radiohead meets David Lynch” by John Loftus of 8 Radio. The tune is a follow up to his single “Do You Wanna Go”, which was featured last month on our website here: https://www.rock-regeneration.co.uk/2020/05/single-do-you-wanna-go-by-mechner.
Jack Explains that the song “Wasted” is “about a single encounter of two young spirited consensual individuals, fuelled by alcohol, crossing paths for one night, in which there is no expectation of further relations between the parties – this ends amicably, but with a feeling of general emptiness and a sense of unfulfillment”. “It represents the side that it’s not all glitz and glamour, that sometimes the whiskey is too strong. Something may be more realistic… “It’s easy to see that you’re wasted on me” a collective sigh of wasted youth, wasted romance and drunkenly wasted state of being”. “There are a lot of layers to “Wasted” – the drum pattern falling about itself, the vocals sweeping around your head like forgotten dialogue exchanged on a drunken night out, the bass stumbling up the stairs, but if you dig even deeper it questions why the majority of society lives for the weekend and what we consent to in our day to day lives.
The song was originally written in 2013, with various demo versions of it played at different tempos. The tune was then taken and revived with lots of key musical changes, giving the laid back groove a lethargic feel. It opens with the crash of a cymbal and a hypnotic drum pattern; before the instrumentation arrives to create a sleazy sounding atmosphere before the vocals deliver in a powerful satisfying way. The line “It’s easy to see why you are wasted on me” rolls around the brain making you consider if the act itself, along with the embarrassing aftermath is worthwhile. It has a great original feel to it, however, at times it seems to have a strange familiarity to it. With the songs being drip-fed in this way, there is a longing to hear the rest of the songs in the “Club Idem” collection.
Links
https://www.facebook.com/mechnerrenhcem
https://www.instagram.com/mechnerrenhcem
https://mechner.bandcamp.com
Words by David Chinery (Chinners).
