One More Weekend, the Melbourne band of Connor Dougan (vocals), Leith Dougan (bass), Tim Aslett (guitar) and Jayson Riley (drums) is back with Aunty Meredith, which combines a cathartic alt-rock spirit with a delightfully delirious storey. The very initial notes of the song drag you headfirst into a tornado of distortion and pounding sound, and make you ride a gaggy ride of psychedelic ecstasy and looming existential horror.
The vocals dominate, as Connor sing the song with gritty emotion, mixed with raw urgency, as he provides the main theme of the song, that razor-thin line between freedom and self-destruction. This tension is reflected excellently in the instrumentation. The guitar playing of Aslett shifts between some soaring, anthemic lines and snarling dissonance, and the bass interlacing the mix like a snake, Leith comes into sync with the drum assault of Riley. It is an entire feast of guitar, yet one that does not allow the brute force to ever bury its melody; it directs its guiding and hook-based chaos instead.
The music video creates a trail of a protagonist that is lured into the disconcerting world of Aunty Meredith. It begins with him waking up in a bizarre party, where one drink takes him into the same state of blindness as the disturbingly empty people. Feeling uncomfortable yet intrigued, he is further introduced into this weird world and later on to the forest, and here he gets involved in weird, ritualistic rituals. When the attraction becomes too great he eventually gives in and becomes part of the cult fully. The video ends with his complete brainwash as he gets engrossed in a ritual dance and he is lost into the world of Aunty Meredith.
The cuts of the performance of the band, interlaced with the emerging narrative, are dynamic and closely executed to turn Aunty Meredith into a single rock single and a musical experience that could be described as real multi-sensory experience. The authenticity of the band, however, is what can be considered most outstanding. One More Weekend have refined their sound in over 200 Australian gigs, and that worn-in urgency is glowing through-- a lack of Foo Fighters crunch in the stadiums and the weight of the atmosphere of The Getaway Plan. It is an aggressive sequence to their previous composition and a vivid indication that they could transform the intimate upheaval into a catharsis, a shared and electric experience.
