In being a bold mix of genres, LA duo Mermaid’s debut album can serve plenty of purposes for the listener. Having met on the stage of Hamilton, and having found early support from Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, pop-rap, contemporary-R&B, and blues rock are just the tip of Iridescence’s categorical iceberg as its range of emotive subject matter manages to match the music’s broad spectrum. “This album is for anyone seeking the catharsis of a scream, a sigh, a moan, or a triumphant shout,” the duo shared before the record dropped. “Mermaid should be a space that feels boundless and free.”
Only a few days removed from Iridescence’s release last Friday, Brittany Campbell and Candace Quarrels played through a pair of the record’s tracks—“Find Me” and the early album teaser “Boundaries”—for a recent “Neighborhoods” session filmed in their backyard in LA’s Highland Park neighborhood. Stripping both songs down to just an acoustic guitar and harmonic vocals, we still get plenty of the record’s emotional peaks in the brief set. Check it out below.
