Meldrum House: A Band On The Rise
Ever since the human brain forgot how to sleep, insomnia has been an unfortunate, yet potent generator of creativity. Inflicted artists, such as Vincent Van Gogh have utilized their lack of sleep to create intense and melancholic artistic pieces. Local Salt Lake band, Meldrum House are among those who have creatively benefited from sleep deprivation, as their lead singer, McKenon Olson often writes their music during his sleepless nights. McKenon Olson, the lead singer comments, “I write a lot about sleep and the lack of it because I have chronic insomnia. When I stay up late and don’t get any sleep I enter a state of delirium… A lot of inspiration and our current music comes from that” This origin of creativity has led to bizarre lyrics alongside Meldrum House’s experimental sound.
Currently, Meldrum House has four band members: McKenon Olson on guitar and lead vocals, Trevyn Olson on bass guitar, Riley Pollok on drums, and Tyler Henry on guitar and keys. The group met when they were seventeen in a rock band class and became fast friends. Their peculiar band name came nearly two years later after heavy deliberation. McKenon explains the band’s name origin; “Our favorite thing in high school was to sluff school and get some pizza at The Pie. Then go to Gray Whale. When you exited Gray Whale there was this building that said Meldrum House. When we saw that, we were finally like, let’s do that.” The name Meldrum House pairs well with the ever forming peculiar aesthetic of this band.
While traversing the songwriting journey, Meldrum House has played at local and out of state venues. Last year, they compiled four demos and placed them in the EP ‘2018 Demos’ which can be found on Spotify. Their current demos, especially the song ‘My Love’, showcase the bizarre lyrics of an insomniac and are similar to Elvis Depressedly’s lo-fi sound. From songs such as ‘No. 8’, ‘Sleep Inc.’, and ‘Y’now It’s No Fun If No One Knows’, there is a more defined indie rock style. As Meldrum House, continues to write music, it’ll be interesting to see whether they push more towards the experimental Elvis Depressedly-esc or a formative indie rock sound.
The band members all admit it’s been a difficult road to finding a consistent sound, but feel optimistic towards the future. They note, “we’re looking forward to getting more songs on paper. We have more than 50 ideas and loosely structured songs. But we don’t have that many recordings and just demos”. While Meldrum House has a defined indie rock sound, their two music videos show the band is still in the thick of navigating the filmmaking process. Each video shows fantastic promise, but hopefully, the band will hone in on their cinematography. This way, their vision, and humor can fully be appreciated, and perhaps this will yield to Meldrum House’s niche and style fully manifesting.
Meldrum House has incredible promise as they navigate the songwriting process. Their music can be found on nearly every music platform, such as Spotify, Youtube, and Apple Music. They’ve played several high energy shows it the past, so watch out for them at Kilby Court or Urban Lounge. Don’t forget to check out they’re Instagram @meldrum_house to be in the know about their upcoming shows.
