Album Review: Meryl Streek, Stories They Don’t Teach You At School

The surest measure of good punk music is how well an artist can channel the anger of their generation into song. On that metric, Meryl Streek has crafted some of the best punk records we’ve heard in decades.

The Dublin artist’s latest sees him thwacking his chest at the Irish state – and how it has abandoned both the young and the working class. On single ‘Rotten Fruit’, he teams up with anarcho-punk legend Steve Ignorant to direct his ire at those responsible for the loss of hope.

The album races forward with a menacing, propulsive intensity. Streek’s rap/spoken word bars are deliberately confrontational, particularly on the likes of ‘Rags To Riches’ and ‘Kelly’ which directly addresses the case of Kelly Lynch, whose death in 2024 was ruled by Gardaí as being “not suspicious”, despite her body being severely bruised.

Lyrically, the album is claustrophobic, with the artist conjuring the disturbing cycles of rage and frustration he and others find themselves in. But there’s a counterpoint to the claustrophobia in the beats and instrumentation – there’s always an energetic drum and bassline, or a tension-breaking sample.

Among the people who contributed to the album’s big sound, meanwhile, are Pete Holidai of The Radiators From Space, Vinny McCreith of Adebisi Shank and comedian Phill Jupitus. Brilliant stuff.

8/10