On April 5th, Mermaidens will release a special 7” split single vinyl, You Maintain the Stain / Cut It Open on Flying Nun Records. Recorded at Blue Barn Recording Studio with long-time collaborator James Goldsmith (Perfect Body, Undergrowth), the trio’s new material was tracked in January 2018 before Larkin toured overseas with her heavy psych rock side project, Earth Tongue (with Ezra Simons).

The first track to leap from the band’s “new world” is the West-penned song, ‘You Maintain the Stain’; a stern letter to “The Man” that resembles a big, subtle middle finger to the to the messed up power structures in this world. The stain refers to the deep-seeded microaggressions that so many experience. The stain is all that is bad.

B side track, ‘Cut It Open’ is a modal, lethargic ode to getting rid of the bad. It is a fitting follow up to the A side track. There is a sweet dissonance that comes across in Larkin’s modal melody and mimicked guitar line, which is guided by the wandering vocal part.

‘You Maintain the Stain’ and ‘Cut It Open’ set a strong tone for what is to come. Mermaidens are in new terrain; exploring power and control in a confronting lens. They’re looking at the gatekeepers and dominators of the world, dissecting their power one song at a time.