Michelle Shiers on September 26th, 2014

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Almost every band seeks reinvention, their fans sometimes fear it, and critics expect it. Tampa, Fla., band Merchandise have moved from being a three-piece post-punk outfit with a drum machine, to being a noise-pop quintet with an ’80s-indebted sheen. Although Merchandise are presented as a pop band, they have retained the DIY ethos of their previous punk landscape. Their third album “After The End” – released one month ago on 4AD – was self-recorded and produced at the bands’ home over six months. Informed different influences, Merchandise’s makeover is brave and the sound is pleasantly familiar yet still refreshing. “Little Killer” is a lush track of guitar-pop and singer Carson Cox’s  melancholy baritone croon similar to Morrissey or Robert Smith. The music video also looks quite DIY with basic effects and an 80’s veil of Cox’s red lipstick and Bowie-esque hair. While Merchandise appear to be influenced by fellow melancholy synth-poppers like the Cure, Depeche Mode and Talk Talk, they are not simply modeling after this popular Anglo sound. Merchandise are blending their assertive-but-not-abrasive punk energy with emotive and tangled indie-pop. Album track “Green Lady” starts off with a dated woodblock and blinding synth that burn slowly but overall feels powerful and calming. Whether the band completely reinvents again or if they run further in the pop direction, Merchandise are proudly showing off their goods in this new sonic terrain.

||| Stream: “Green Lady”

||| Live: Merchandise perform Saturday at The Echoplex.