2 October 2026 – Old Mervs Park Their Second Album Carparks Firmly in Jangly Indie-Rock Territory

Western Australian duo Old Mervs release their second album Carparks today, a 12-track record that pushes Tyler Jenke and David House further into the jangly, melodic guitar sound that has become their calling card. There is something reassuringly uncomplicated about Old Mervs. While half the music industry appears engaged in an arms race to invent increasingly elaborate genre descriptions, the duo understand that guitars, drums and a melody people remember on the second listen remain surprisingly useful technology.

Carparks does not mean the band has stopped developing; rather, it sounds like two musicians becoming increasingly confident about what they do well. Kim Churchill appears on "The Hills," adding another Australian songwriting voice to a record built around warmth, movement and the sort of choruses that make significantly more sense when several hundred people are singing them back. The album arrives as Old Mervs prepare for another Australian tour, which is where these songs will probably reveal their full dimensions.

Second albums can be awkward affairs: too similar and everybody complains the band has not progressed, too different and somebody inevitably demands the old sound back. Carparks appears to solve the problem by widening the road without changing vehicles. Given the title, parking metaphors were unfortunately inevitable.