“The Merries” is the fourth studio album by Limerick Indie outfit Anna’s Anchor. Once a solo affair, this ever evolving musical project closer resembles a collaborative, ever changing community with frontman Marty Ryan as the driving force behind it. Since the project’s inception in 2014, Marty has amassed a loyal audience from playing over 350 shows all around the world in a DIY fashion. 2021’s “A Glorious Ruction” showed the creative potential of the band with a concept album that led the band to critical acclaim in Ireland in the U.K.

This latest offering from Anna’s Anchor shows a definite sonic and thematic shift. Often siding with melancholy, The Merries takes a 180 degree turn towards a hyper nostalgic feel both lyrically and musically. Born out of a fever dream of pain and uncertainty, Ryan suffered a scary head injury in 2022. Luckily he was fine and healthy but at the time, memory loss and long term issues were an initial concern. Marty wrote a list of important memories after the accident happened as a way to try and ensure he was alright and as a means to have an account of experiences that were precious to him. Strangely enough, none of these events had ever featured in an Anna’s Anchor song before which is strange in itself for a band that is 3 albums and a slew of EPs deep. With that, the concept of “The Merries” was born where Ryan backtracked and turned this list of events that were near and dear to him into the next Anna’s Anchor album.

Musically this is the most expansive offering from Anna ’s Anchor to date. Guitars, bass, drums and brash vocals do appear as would be expected from the band but The Merries also features more stripped back songs, synthesizers, found sound and spoken word. This album also features more individuals on it than pr evious releases with Brian Scally on drums, Clare O’Brien on backing vocals as well as lead vocals for the album’s closing song and even a guest appearance from Hermitage Green’s Dermot Sheedy on Bodhrán. All of this shows that Anna’s Anchor is operating with an artistic freedom that has culminated into “The Merries”.