Music Review: Daniel Merriweather's "Love and War"

Music Review

Daniel Merriweather's "Love and War"

By our guest blogger, Megan O'Malley

I try to give everything a chance at least once--with the exception of Nickelback.  They get no chance. Unfortunately, Daniel Merriweather is someone who will never, ever make it to my play list. His debut album, “Love and War,” is a forgettable attempt at pop music. You would think someone who worked with Mark Ronson would be better, but sadly, Merriweather not.

His songs aren’t bad, really, but when listening to them, you kind of feel as if there was no real effort on anyone’s part to make “Love and War” a worthwhile album. This comes specifically in the element of lyrics. The ridiculously bad song “Chainsaw” actually has the line “giving myself to you is like giving myself to a chainsaw.” While it’s easy to understand what he’s going for, the woman’s bad news, the way he chose to describe it is all mixed up and awkward. Another line from a different song is “I can’t get my ass of the couch because of you.” Mr. Merriweather, no woman in her right mind ever wants to hear that from a man. It seems as if he thinks he’s singing songs that are supposed to be tender and heartfelt--you know, the kind that make girls swoon. Instead, his sub-par lyrics and the unoriginal music make him no one special to listen to.

The two songs that really make the album unbearable are “Cigarettes” and “The Children.” The latter has creepy children singing at the beginning like something out of a horror movie and then turns into a pseudo-Christian song. Meanwhile, “Cigarettes” seems like it's supposed to be about loss and heartache, but it ends up coming off as dull and stupid. And it’s all because of the lyrics. Maybe if he spent a little more time crafting decent lyrics, “Love and War” would be better.

His influences can be heard throughout the album. It’s obvious this guy likes Billy Joel and Marvin Gaye, but both of these artists have firmly established themselves in pop culture stardom. If they falter on their songs (“We Didn’t Start the Fire” anyone?), it’s okay because they have achieved pop stardom and their fans will forgive them. Merriweather needs to achieve that same sort of success before he can write such corny lyrics.