Dark Days in December is a song from Liam Merrigan’s debut album Broke Beyond Tomorrow. The song has something very raw and real about it that captures your attention from the start. The acoustic guitar playing is simple and honest, and on top of this, the only addition is Liam Merrigan’s slightly effected voice. The chemistry is crucial, and it works – these minimal elements fuse beautifully and offer something that really leaves its mark.
The melody of the song feeds into its simplicity further, the verses and chorus are made up of short, singular lines, with merely a slight change of pitch from one section to the other. The words used are poignant and in a way this type of songwriting represents well the idea that less is more. Nothing is added just for the sake of filling out the space within the song – the space remains, it’s there for you to reflect upon the sound of the music and the ideas presented by the singer and songwriter. What you’re left with is a hypnotic progression of lines that circle around you, reinforcing these deeply reflective thoughts and their undeniably human nature.
There’s a definite level of intimacy to the song that suggests it means something very personal to the songwriter. On occasion this can mean that a song exists as this distant, detached art form that can only be briefly experienced or enjoyed. The absolute opposite is true in this case. The song has an immediately accessible ambiance to it, and the lines somehow seem relevant to you and whatever you may have been through. These are issues most listeners can relate to, and they’ve been expressed in a very genuine, even quite vulnerable manner. All of this adds greatly to the song’s appeal, and it showcases an intriguing and thoughtful artist. Well worth looking out for.
Head over to Soundcloud for more music. Check out the album Broke Beyond Tomorrow on Spotify & Amazon. Find & follow Liam Merrigan on Facebook.
