"It's time to see all the places we will go," croons Braz, lead singer of the New Jersey based Mere, in their song "Higher." That type of optimism is peppered throughout Mere's music, indicating that Braz and company are ready to discover all the places they will go. With a sound that is, at once, hopeful and triumphant, Mere seem prepared to take their message as far as they want. Whether tackling weighty themes of heartbreak and turmoil or celebrating the beauty in the relationships around them, Mere's music always looks for the light at the end of the tunnel. "There are good things and bad things in life and we're happy to talk about them all," guitarist Brian Bason said, "but at the end of the day, life is beautiful."The quintet's shared focus on tightly packaged melodies and hook-driven songwriting makes them instant radio fodder, helped along by Braz's soaring vocals. Fittingly, "Higher" has gathered attention as a theme song of sorts (it has been featured by NBC as part of their Olympics coverage) and for a band who eschew musical excess, the track is a microcosm of Mere's collective focus on the craft of songwriting. "We like to treat notes like they're expensive," Bason said. "You have to spend them like they're money. Sometimes you have to spend money to get something good but you should never spend frivolously."
As Stereofame's December 2009 Artist of the Month, that message is one step closer to reaching the mass audience Bason has in mind. As a band who unabashedly wear their hearts on their sleeves, Mere has crafted a sound that blends the melancholy pop sensibilities of Lifehouse with Braz's vocal prowess that recalls the best of bands like Starsailor and Dishwalla. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed by the Stereofame community, where they are ranked among the top fifteen artists on the site. "The best part about Stereofame is that the community is full of really great music fans," Bason said. "They support the artists like no other site."As the latest in the growing list of Stereofame's Artists of the Month, Mere get to take advantage of the site's ability to introduce artists to a national audience like never before. In addition to a $1,000 cash prize, Mere is now eligible for consideration as Stereofame's Artist of the Year, which carries with it a $5,000 cash prize.
