Merpire shares second album "Milk Pool"

+ Shares music video for "Fishing"

Support for Merpire

"The second album from Melbourne-based artist Merpire (aka Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt) is a darkly romantic collection of big, messy feelings put to song. There’s crunchy, grunge-era guitars (“Leaving With You”, “Bigger”), sublime synth-pop (“Premonition”), piano-led heartbreak (“Internet”), and even acoustic lo-fi (“You Are Loved”). MILK POOL is a winning combination of style and substance that should see Merpire’s fanbase expand even further." - Rolling Stone

"A moving and impressive collection of indie pop...a perfect cathartic release" - NME

"Manages to strike the perfect balance between vulnerability and mystery with her movie-like romanticism. [Merpire] has a skill for making sun-drenched sounds that have a post-break-up poignance, as if you are watching (or belong in) a coming of age film" - CLASH

"Every new Merpire track is a new opportunity to marvel at the voice and the writing, and appreciate the production. Milk Pool forever." 
- triple j, Luka Muller

"Deliciously dark pop that radiates bliss" - Backseat Mafia

"An important artist who never fails to create music that moves you, the return of Merpire is an event to be celebrated with the hope of more music to come from her in 2025" - Women In Pop

Naarm/Melbourne's Merpire aka Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt, (she/her) today shares her highly-anticipated second album MILK POOL - a indie/alt/dark-pop album for the romantics, the daydreamers, and those moving through intense periods of change, punctuated by unconventional rhythms and chord choices, provocative guitar, moody synths and vivid imagery - its title representing "the murky fluidity of the action took to create it". A second teenagehood for Merpire that finds her “wading playfully and trustingly into the unknown", in a deeper, darker, more personal way than her globally-acclaimed debut album Simulation Ride (2021). 

MILK POOL features vibrant focus track + video "Fishing" as well as previously-released trilogy of starry-eyed singles "Premonition", "Bigger" & "Leaving With You" and is out everywhere now - stream HERE / purchase on vinyl HERE.

Angled toward her deep, abiding love for her artist community through thick and thin and co-produced by Merpire and James Seymour (Pillow Queens, Elizabeth M. Drummond, Jacob Diamond), buoyant alt-pop/indie-rock focus track "Fishing" immediately hooks in heart-first with its opening lyrics and bright, fuzzed-out guitar - "I'm just a little bit in love with all of my friends / Oh how I need them" - a beautiful celebration of friendship and connection and a testament of the fierce and unshakeable love Merpire has for her community. Milk Pool was written at the end of 2020 after a huge year as a founding the globally successful live streaming series ISOL-AID through the pandemic, finishing her debut album Simulation Ride, starting another one-off collaborative project Wilson's Prom and contributing a track to a collaborative EP Quietly Waiting. 

Speaking on "Fishing", Merpire shares "it's a song for every artist who makes huge sacrifices every day, while still being able to support other artists for the love of art" - and that through all the "learning and pushing and grieving, I was ever-proud of the resilience of the music community" - also saying of the 90s-inspired video, directed by rcstills (Public Figures, Juice Webster) with additional shots by Brooke Painter (Heathers: The Musical, Urinetown): "It was essentially a big party of creatives, some of whom had met before and some who hadn't, all coming together to express joy. By the end of the shoot we just wanted to actually live out what we were capturing - making new friends, chatting and laughing til the wee hours. It was truly beautiful and that love just beams out of the clip."

A premonition in itself, MILK POOL was written at a crossroads in Merpire's life where she felt called to make huge changes, including stepping away from her achievements as a founder of live music streaming series ISOL-AID during the pandemic - an effort she began to bolster the struggling artist community which featured 146+ artists incl. Angie McMahon, Courtney Bartnett, Sarah Blasko and more - and from interpersonal relationships - recorded at Melrose Place on Wurundjeri Country with production by Merpire, James Seymour (Pillow Queens, Elizabeth M. Drummond, Jacob Diamond), and contributions via James Dring (Nilüfer Yanya, Genesis Owusu, Porches) and Elizabeth M. Drummond, mixed by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding, Perfume Genius).

Watch the video for "Fishing" here

More on Merpire and Milk Pool

MILK POOL's themes - diving into the unknown, sexuality ("Internet", "Rosanna") & pure crush ("Premonition", "Leaving With You", "Bigger"), home in community ("Fishing"), putting the final stitches over past traumas ("fig.8", "Canine", "Cinnamon"), restlessness, rediscovery of self and values ("Retriever", "You Are Loved") - echo Merpire's lived experiences, intentionally written to eddy & swirl in meaning depending on the listener - without ever losing her trademark sense of humour, buoyed by the human connection we share & a deep romanticism for people, places and how they inevitably change over time.

The album features paw-scratching & paw-padding from Jane the cat and instrumentation via Merpire (vocals, acoustic & electric guitar, synths, tambourine), James Seymour (backing vocals, piano, ukulele, electric guitars, bass, programmed drums, synths, percussion), James Dring (electric guitars, bass, drums, beats and percussion), Elizabeth M. Drummond (backing vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, programmed drums, synths, bass), Jess Ellwood (drums) & Jeremy Gara (drums, percussion) - and is the result of an artist doggedly reclaiming her body, her joy and her desire, intended for anyone who could use the physical release. 

Merpire shares of the album: "I recently overheard a quote by the Russian composer Rachmaninov on writing music. He said, 'It should be the product of the sum total of a composer’s experiences'. It was comforting to find such correlating eternal values in music between myself - a female, queer, Australian contemporary artist living in the 21st century and a male, straight, composer who lived in the 19th-century. Like life, the only constant on this record is change. MILK POOL is finding home and displacement. While I’ve written lyrics and created production elements to fit my emotional connection with the personal meaning of each song, the album is open to interpretation. Why put a song in a box when art is meant to be free? MILK POOL has served my needs to express myself and my experiences. It is now literally “released” as an open gift for whoever wants to listen to explore their own meanings and emotions".

A self-described "child-like at heart" lover of daydreams, dogs and unconventional songwriting with over 1.3 million streams on Spotify alone, who counts the likes of Angie McMahon among her long-time supporters, Merpire's enthralling lyric-forward dark-pop draws from the familiar and the unknown in equal measures, with a filmic sense of whimsy and grit - sitting somewhere between the off-kilter cult favourites of romance, horror and comedy - underpinned by subtext profound enough to stop you in your tracks. 

The universe of Merpire - first introduced through her Endless Chatter EP in 2018 and expanded by her debut album Simulation Ride in 2021 - continues to evolve with her latest release, MILK POOL. Released via ADA, Simulation Ride debuted at number 8 on the AIR Independent Label Album Charts and attracted widespread acclaim from outlets including triple j, Double J, BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders (Future Artists), NPR, La Blogothèque, CLASH, NME, and The Sunday Times. The new album MILK POOL, along with its singles “Leaving With You”, “Premonition”, and “Bigger”, have built on that momentum, receiving strong national airplay across triple j programs including Mornings, Prism, Home & Hosed, Weekend Breakfast and Nights.

On triple j Unearthed, “Bigger” was selected as Track of the Day and remained in the Popular Tracks chart for a full month, while “Leaving With You” held its place for two weeks. Double J support was equally strong, with tracks peaking at number 13 on the Most Played list and featuring for five consecutive weeks. Videos for both “Premonition” and “Bigger” also received rotation on rage.

Press coverage has been extensive and enthusiastic, with praise from Rolling Stone - who awarded MILK POOL four stars and featured Merpire in multiple “best new music” lists, including a recent cover story. Additional features and reviews have come from The Line of Best Fit, Sounds Australia, Ones To Watch, frankie magazine, The Music, Rough Trade, Music Feeds, Tone Deaf, The AU Review, Far Out Magazine, Backseat Mafia, Atwood Magazine, Ramona Magazine, Happy Magazine, Women In Pop, AAA Backstage, This Song Is Yours, Tsk Tsk Magazine, Reverie, and Steven Ray Morris’ See Jurassic Right podcast.

The album has also enjoyed strong support across Australia’s major community radio stations, with adds on SYN, 2SER, Edge Radio and Radio Adelaide, and airplay on FBi Radio, Triple R, PBSFM, 3CR, Joy 94.9 and 4ZZZ. On digital streaming platforms, Merpire has featured on an array of editorial playlists, including Spotify’s Tapestry, Fresh Finds AUNZ, sad indie girl sht*, New Music Friday AUNZ and Mellow Days, as well as Apple Music’s indie + chill, All Indie, New in Indie, New In Rock, New In Alternative and Heaps Indie.

With MILK POOL, Merpire plunges deeper than ever before into sonic and emotional terrain, showcasing an artist who continues to expand her world with each release.

Merpire's shows are described as an "emotional rollercoaster" - moving between intimate pop ballads and fully immersive alt-indie heart-shakers, made all the more engaging by her instinctive approach to guitar. Most recently supporting Ball Park Music on Gadigal Country - jumping up to join them for backing vocals - and earlier this year, playing a single launch for 'Premonition' at Naarm's The Tote & Brunswick Music Festival’s 3x-sold-out event At The Altar Of Us with Ruby Gill and Porpoise Spit, an intimate evening celebrating queer storytelling and songs at Brunswick Uniting Church - one of the first churches in so-called Australia to start accepting queer marriage - also appearing on stage at album launches of Ruby Gill & Bec Sykes and supporting Los Bitchos. Merpire's mesmeric craft and stage presence has seen her support Ball Park Music, Julia Jacklin, Angie McMahon, Pillow Queens (IE), Spacey Jane, Hockey Dad, James Bay (UK) and many more, boasting three UK & Ireland tours in as many years featuring a sold-out London headline show, a mammoth 2024 featuring three national tours with Fanning Dempsey National Park, Magic Dirt, Bombay Bicycle Club and more including slots at high-profile festivals like A festival called PANAMA, St. Jerome's Laneway Festival (with RAT!hammock), Woodford Folk Festival, Bass in the Grass, mentorships with Andy Bull, Ainslie Wills and beyond. 

Merpire’s live shows have been described as an "emotional rollercoaster", effortlessly moving between intimate pop ballads and immersive alt-indie anthems - made all the more compelling by her instinctive, expressive approach to guitar. Most recently, she supported Ball Park Music on Gadigal Country, even joining them on stage for backing vocals. Earlier this year, she launched her single “Premonition” with a headline show at Naarm’s The Tote, and performed at Brunswick Music Festival’s three-times-sold-out event At The Altar Of Us, an intimate evening celebrating queer storytelling and song at Brunswick Uniting Church - one of the first churches in Australia to welcome queer marriage.

She has also appeared on stage at the album launches of Ruby Gill and Bec Sykes, and supported international and local acts including Los Bitchos, Julia Jacklin, Angie McMahon, Pillow Queens, Spacey Jane, Hockey Dad, and James Bay. Her magnetic stage presence and crafted performances have taken her on three UK and Ireland tours in as many years, including a sold-out headline show in London.

2024 has shaped up to be a massive year, with Merpire completing three national tours alongside Fanning Dempsey National Park, Magic Dirt, and Bombay Bicycle Club, as well as performances at major festivals such as A Festival Called PANAMA, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival (with RAT!hammock), Woodford Folk Festival, and Bass in the Grass. In addition to her stage work, she’s taken part in mentorships with Andy Bull, Ainslie Wills, and more - further cementing her role as one of the most captivating and versatile voices in the Australian indie scene.

TRACKLIST
Leaving With You
Premonition
Bigger
Rosanna
Cinnamon
fig.8
Canine
Fishing
Retriever
Internet
You Are Loved

Merpire will bring Milk Pool on tour across eastern Australia for a album release show in Naarm/ Melbourne, and then proceed on an August headline tour in August. Numerous headline shows have sold-old already, so act fast to avoid disappointment. Tour admat above, and full list of dates below. 

Merpire East Australia tour
Sun 6 Jul - Soundmerch - Naarm/Melbourne, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country VIC
Fri 15 Aug - Junk Bar - Magandjin/Brisbane, Turrbal Country QLD
Sat 16 Aug - Lazy Thinking - Eora/Sydney, Gadigal & Wangal Country NSW
Sat 17 Aug - Smith's Alternative - Ngambri/Canberra, Ngunnawal Country ACT
Thurs 21 Aug - Merri Creek Tavern - Naarm/Melbourne, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country VIC **SOLD OUT
Thu 28 Aug - Merri Creek Tavern - Naarm/Melbourne, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country VIC **SOLD OUT
Sat 15 Nov - Town Folk Festival, Castlemaine, Dja Dja Wurrung Country VIC

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