Reality really feels like a punch in the gut these days. It takes your breath away in an instant, and the pain continues to linger in the background for quite a while afterwards, fading into the background more and more until it’s just a memory of the pain that’s left. A memory that still makes you wince just thinking about the moment it hit you and made you exhale.

In their debut album, "Gut Punch," Meagre Martin create a sound inspired by shoegaze, 90’s indie, or 'faux country,' as the band calls it, and juxtaposes these beautifully light soundscapes with lyrics that belie the sweetness of the sound with their vulnerability and depth. Sonically evoking images of California deserts and Berlin basements, of long thoughtful conversations in the twilight, days turning into nights in the park and nights turning into day again at a studio, lyricist, singer, and guitarist Sarah Martin (she/her) and her bandmates Federico Corazzini (drums, engineering, he/him) and Max Hirtz-Wolf (bass, he/him) have created eleven tracks – starting with the dreamy, ethereal "Intro" and closing with the utterly different, yet equally vaporous "Outro" – that beautifully flow into each other.

In the lyrics, Martin explores her feelings towards her native country, the United States, as well as personal trauma, healing, the climate catastrophe, and mass extinction. The latter, however, with a distinctly vibey, life-affirming sound on "The Big Death (TBD)": "I don’t wanna die, it’s all right," Martin sings, "the trees are burning and we’re not learning." On "Amerika," the band reflects on their country of origin from a vantage point of insiders and outsiders simultaneously: "Praise the Lord in America, protect your own in America, work to the bone in America, then we soldier on in America" – lyrics that feel laconic but also very urgent and timely with the rise of religious authoritarianism ahead of the presidential election next year. Martin’s direct, honest, and truly authentic songwriting is given shape by the production and space to expand in all directions, with her unique voice drawing listeners deeper and deeper into the world the trio has created together.

"We approached the album in a really old way of making music," Corazzini explains, "it felt like soul-searching as a band, the three of us together." Having had access to the legendary Butterrama studios in Berlin through Corazzini’s job as a studio engineer, the band had the chance to take their time to develop a unique sound that is equally contemporary and yet shimmers with a tinge of golden nostalgia. Recording almost everything live together and making use of analogue equipment and techniques that the studio offers, the trio created songs that feel remarkably lived-in, in the best way possible. It comes as no surprise that the young band (they only became a trio in February 2022 and immediately went to the studio the following summer) counts artists and bands such as Big Thief, Snail Mail, Cate Le Bon, and, of course, Fleetwood Mac and the mystique, as their inspiration.

With "Gut Punch," Meagre Martin releases a remarkable debut that feels familiar like a good old friend and fresh at the same time. The lushness of the sound builds the ideal foundation for the stories Sarah Martin, Federico Corazzini, and Max Hirtz-Wolf want to tell. Bridging indie sentimentalities and contemporary topics, "Gut Punch" is a record that manages to be both of its time and timeless, and introduces Meagre Martin as one of the most thoughtful, humane, and exciting bands of the contemporary indie sphere. And I, for one, can’t wait for all there is to come.

- Aida Baghernejad