- Opinion
- 03 Aug 21
'HR' marks the first album in a decade from Brighton-based Irish songwriter, producer and vocalist Meljoann.
Meljoann has at last gifted us with her long-awaited sophomore album. HR, the self-produced follow up to 2010's Squick, is a twisted-pop collage that takes aim at capitalism through lenses like gender, identity and relationships.
Sonically, HR hops from decade to decade - exploring hard-edged industrial rock on 'Business Card' while infusing elements of '80s Prince-inspired pop on 'Consumer'. Early 2000s pop sounds throughout tracks such as 'O Supervisor and 'Hoard', while the 90’s RnB-infused electronica of latest single 'I Quit' feels like a fuck-you sequel to Dolly Parton's '9-5' sung by Janet Jackson.
The lyrics, vivid in detail, with breathtaking imagery, depict an artist examining their relationship to consumerism and gives voice to the collective delusion that we will one day feel comfortable and secure. On that day we will choose to change the system from the inside.
An ode to the dissatisfied worker, Meljoann describes HR as a representation of "the ways in which we collude with, prop up, and replicate capitalism in our relationships and inner lives."
"Its underlying concept describes our economic fundamentalism as a self-fulfilling model of reality that no-one escapes from: our utility as Human Resources".
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Album highlights include 'Overtime', a synth-driven pop ditty with some dark lyrical content about a creepy boss, and closing track 'Ventilation Shaft', a dreamy, eerie electronica fantasy about escaping the drudgery of the day job.
Listen to HR by Meljoann below.