REVIEW: Meryl Streek - Stories They Don't Teach You At School
MERYL STREEK takes the jarring and uncomfortable and spotlights it in front of us all on new album Stories They Don't Teach You At School, pulling our heads out of the sand to deliver incendiary punk-rage through spoken-word lyrics over a mix of jagged riffs, breakneck electronic mixes and relentless beats that pack power into every punching track.
The Dublin punk poet maintains his status as a live wire in the political sphere, refusing to stay silent on matters the Irish and British governments attempt to silence themselves. Streek centres most of his work on the issues pervading Ireland, being so close to home and heart, but the experiences captured in his songs aren’t just exclusive to the Irish audience, with Streek raining fire down on the housing crises, violence against women, and the more personal feelings of depression, loss, and disillusionment in everyday life.
Stories They Don’t Teach You At School diligently educates us on Irish injustices whilst portraying these stories in frenetic rhythms and incentivising statements that feel far too relatable from across the Irish Sea. Streek may use an eclectic combination of lyrical and instrumental methods to create a sonic protest, but the most important ingredient to this politically charged work is the intent. Whether it’s in his sharpened wordsmith approach that cuts through the bullshit of politics and biased media, or the more open moments where he injects raw emotion into screams, hoarse yells or mournful anecdotes of people we’ve lost, Streek goes into his work with the intent of getting the stories out for those who cannot speak.
From the opener Welcome and its immediate lyrics “it’s because of the slimy politics”, the themes of the album are unavoidable, the track now the introduction to Streek’s live performances to stir up a frenzy from the get-go, while Rotten Fruit draws on the rage of seeing people struggle to survive and people turning away, and the guilt that comes from wanting to self-isolate because life is so fucking bleak, but choosing to get rightfully loud instead. One of the first singles released, Rags To Riches featured Streek dressed as a clown as he spits lyrics about the Sisyphean feat of living just to survive over a racing beat and synths, culminating in a dystopian monologue where we’re told how to eat, dress, sleep, and be grateful.
Council Estates combines rough, gritty guitar riffs with soaring notes that resonate with the sentiment of the track, Streek mourning the ones “we left behind” who now believe “wrong is right”, the despondency evident in his spoken voice as he’s forced to move onward to Depression, a track that actually paints the personal horror of depressive spirals, of being the “last to the party, the first to leave” and putting a mask on as the world passes by, but the track instils that hope that it’s “not too late to become someone better”, abruptly falling away to a heartfelt vocalisation for the briefest of moments before the rhythms builds in speed and emotion, personifying the moment the spiral levels out and you can start to climb back up again.
Kelly Lynch was a young woman who was brutally murdered in 2024. Despite evidence of 93 bruises and her personal life showing she was happy and building her life, her death was not treated as suspicious at the time, her family fighting tooth and nail for her case to be investigated properly. Streek brings this harrowing case to light on Kelly and asks why justice still hasn't been served for Kelly and her family, a track that has seen audiences come to a complete standstill in horror. Be The Hammer slows in instrumental weight, relying on a melancholic piano over a simplified electronic beat and harmonising backing vocals, the lyrics able to carry their own substantial emotional weight before building to a quickening rhythm and desperate shouts of “I haven't got the time”.
Another fan favourite single, The Chancer eviscerates corrupt and greedy politicians over a punk heavy medley, speaking from the perspective of a political creep who talks a big game and does fuckall to help the public, a sudden takedown from Phill Jupitus cutting through with his delightful no-nonsense wit and intelligence. The pace picks up exponentially on Housing For All with an addictive electronic foundation and razor-sharp lyrics “you live by the sword and you'll die by it too”, Streek utilising news report vox pops of the Irish housing crisis to drive the point home.
Bullet seems like a cathartic outpouring for Streek as he runs through everything he hates over a racing punk riff, whether it's political or personal no-one is safe from his vitriol. Life Is Not A Rehearsal feels almost chipper in sound, but coupled with the contradictory lyrics that turn it into an ode to the people we've lost it becomes more a beacon of hope in the depths of grief. Streek closes out with Frankie's Theme, a relentless monologue from Frankie McNamara, the creator behind viral social videos ‘Meditations for the Anxious Mind’, an upbeat electro-pop medley behind his voice as he soothes our worries and affirms we are enough and we deserve love, an unexpected gift from Streek after such an emotionally wrought album.
Score: 8/10
Stories They Don't Teach You At School will be released on 9th October 2026 via Venn Records.
Words: Julia Stark
Photos: Meryl Streek
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