Merit Maker has just released a new album, Better Days Ahead. The album begins with Set It Straight, a track that takes up the standards of late 1990s hard rock, punk, and post-grunge. The guitar fuzz that envelopes the vocals is like a warm blanket, amping up the cohesion considerably.
Feelings First’s introductory bass line is reminiscent of Blink 182, while there’s an insistence that will get listeners out into the dance floor. There’s a bit of emo rock wistfulness that plays in the back of the single, showcasing a greater complexity to the track than is present in typical pop-punk fare.
The Stolen Hearts’s guitar / drum dynamic will immediately catch listeners’ attentions. The single provides each part of Merit Maker ample opportunity to shine alone and as a part of a greater whole. The brooding emotion that pokes through at points keeps things fresh for the band until they wind things to a close.
Two Steps Ahead is an interesting inclusion, showcasing the band’s ability to slow things down. There’s still the same taut instrumentation present in droves here, but I feel that the slower tempo of the track’s opening is a welcome inclusion for a disc that has been fairly fast up to that point. Upsides of Downsides is another subtle shift to Merit Maker’s overall sound. I feel that the bit of thrashier guitars that are incorporated into the whole wall of sound separate this effort from the rest of the album. Liftoffs, Landings is our late-album favorite; this penultimate contribution by the band is catchy as all get out with guitar work that is deceptively deep.
Better Days Ahead is available from the Merit Maker Bandcamp and other DSPs.
Top Tracks: Set It Straight, The Stolen Hearts, Upsides of Downsides
Rating: 8.2/10
We covered Merit Maker’s Pick Ups and Put Downs back in 2023.
Merit Maker – Better Days Ahead / 2025 Self Released / 10 Tracks / Domain / Bandcamp / Last.fm
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
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