Meryl Streek has never been particularly interested in making comfortable music.
The Dublin artist has built a reputation on saying the things other people would rather leave unsaid, turning corruption, grief, inequality, institutional failure and the realities of modern Ireland into something sitting somewhere between punk, spoken word, electronica and outright confrontation.
Now he’s preparing to release his third album, Stories They Don’t Teach You At School, out 9th October through Venn Records.
And the title tells you plenty about where Streek’s head is at.
The record looks at the education that happens after you leave the classroom. Depression. Addiction. Homelessness. The cost of living. Grief. Community. The things nobody hands you a textbook for, but which eventually become some of the biggest lessons of your life.
As Streek explains:
“We’re not pre-warned about issues like depression, addiction, homelessness and cost of living. These are matters we’re forced to deal with later in life, with zero preparation.”
The album follows 2024’s acclaimed Songs For The Deceased, described by Hot Press as “a masterclass in uneasy listening”, and sees Streek once again using other voices to help tell stories that deserve to be heard.
First single Rotten Fruit features Steve Ignorant of CRASS and tackles media control, fake news and the relentless stream of fear and negativity arriving through the screens in our hands.
Elsewhere, Council Estates directs its anger towards governments failing the working class, while Kelly focuses on the death of Kelly Lynch, who was found in the Ulster Canal in Monaghan Town on St. Patrick’s Day 2024.
Across the record, Streek is joined by an eclectic collection of musicians, campaigners, speakers and comedians including Pete Holidai of The Radiators From Space, Phill Jupitus, Derelict Ireland campaigners Frank O’Connor and Jude Sherry, Gallows guitarist and Venn Records founder Laurent ‘Lags’ Barnard, Vinny McCreith, Sophie Porter and Frankie McNamara.
But despite the number of voices surrounding him, the thing holding everything together remains unmistakably Meryl Streek: anger, compassion and an almost compulsive need to create.
Which, as we discovered, doesn’t stop when he gets home.
For THIS IS MY HAUS, we wanted to step away from the traditional music interview for five minutes and find out what exists on the other side of Meryl Streek.
Turns out there are Nick Blinko originals, Simpsons memorabilia, homemade soap, fan portraits and quite a lot of working until four in the morning.
You were raised around punk bands, musicians and your dad’s drumming. What records, artwork or objects from that part of your life have followed you into your own home?
A lot of Rudimentary Peni artwork and artwork drawn by their singer Nick Blinko has become my obsession. I collect a lot of his books and original artwork and it’s definitely some of the most expensive items that I own.
I love old movie posters and Simpsons memorabilia too. I’ve become a collector of all things strange and weird.
Your music deals with corruption, grief, injustice and subjects that are difficult to leave behind. When you get home, what helps you properly switch off from Meryl Streek?
I think one of the problems of Meryl Streek is the fact that I don’t switch off ever. I’m constantly working on new artwork, T-shirts, music or jewellery.
But the closest I get to switching off is making art or soap or candles, as I find it quite therapeutic. So that definitely helps me semi-switch off.
A lot of Stories They Don’t Teach You At School was built from samples, voices, guitars and contributions from different people. Where do you create, and what does your working space actually look like when a track is coming together?
I think it was David Lynch who used to say, “All you need is a desk,” and it’s so true.
Once I have a desk I find everything else just falls together.
I work throughout the night mostly. I can be tired all day but when midnight hits I’m wide awake and thinking about music and having a million great ideas.
So I typically work from midnight until 4am and it’s normally a pretty successful time for getting stuff done.
What is the strangest, most sentimental or most “Meryl Streek” thing we would find in your home?
I guess it would be the many drawings of myself I’ve got framed on my walls.
I’m not that vain though, I promise!!
I’ve just been given a lot of artwork drawn by fans over the years and it’s honestly so well drawn the only place I could stick them was up on the wall.
I’m a pretty big collector of all things Meryl Streek, even though it’s me, but I blame that on the fact I’m a collector myself. I think it runs in my family.
If we handed you the keys to the THIS IS MY HAUS house party, what would be playing, who would be invited and what would probably be broken by the end of the night?
I’d ask everyone to leave the house, lock the door from the inside, smoke a joint and work on music throughout the night.
This is peak 36 years old.
I’d get more from the fact I don’t have to see anyone for the night than anything else.
I’d love that!
ALL YOU NEED IS A DESK
Perhaps that answer tells you more about Meryl Streek than any carefully constructed artist biography could.
Give him a room, a desk and nobody knocking at the door and there’s a fairly good chance something new is going to exist by morning.
It makes even more sense when you trace the project back to its beginnings.
Meryl Streek first began taking shape in a small apartment in Vancouver, where a pirated copy of Ableton, electronic beats, news samples and guitars recorded by friends gradually became something more than the passion project they were originally intended to be.
Returning to Ireland gave that experimentation a purpose.
Political corruption, institutional scandals, addiction, homelessness, suicide and loss became material not because they made comfortable subjects, but precisely because they didn't.
His 2022 debut 796 took its name from the children associated with the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, immediately establishing the territory Streek was prepared to enter.
Songs For The Deceased followed in 2024, documenting cold cases, national tragedies and personal loss.
Now Stories They Don’t Teach You At School pushes that idea further.
For all the anger surrounding Meryl Streek, underneath it is an artist obsessed with people, stories, memories and the importance of community.
There’s rage in there, certainly.
But there’s compassion too.
And perhaps that is the lesson underneath all the others.
Say what needs saying. Keep creating. Give a shit about people.
And apparently, make sure you've got a desk.
Meryl Streek releases Stories They Don’t Teach You At School via Venn Records on 9th October 2026.
Before that, new single ‘Bullet’ arrives 8th September.
Meryl Streek celebrates the album release with a special show at London’s 100 Club on 8th October, in partnership with DIY Magazine.
UK IN-STORE DATES
9th October - Venus Vinyl, Norwich
10th October - Just Dropped In, Coventry
11th October - Crash, Leeds
12th October - Truck, Oxford
13th October - Pie & Vinyl, Southsea
14th October - Resident, Brighton
15th October - Banquet, Kingston
Photo Credit: Derek Bremner
