Mesh
The Truth Doesn’t Matter
Dependent
The elevator pitch on UK act Mesh was codified a long time ago and still holds up – they work in a wounded, emotional fusion of synthpop and rock which simultaneously recalls several historical points where each of those genres has drifted into the other. Given that that core style hasn’t changed in nearly 20 years, their individual records live and die by the minor tweaking of that style and the strength of the material on offer. New record The Truth Doesn’t Matter (the Bristol band’s eighth) doesn’t ever threaten to reinvent the wheel, yet many of the sixteen tracks here rank amongst Mark Hockings and Richard Silverthorn’s best in recent memory.
The band’s been lauded for their ability to move between the anxious and the anthemic from song to song or within one by itself, and “A Storm Is Coming”, with its interplay of fraught, stabbing programming and Hockings’ alto, itself switching from self-inventorying paranoia to a steelier and more determined tone, is proof positive of the sort of dynamic drama Mesh hit upon in their better moments. Later, “Hey Stranger” unrolls at a more vulnerable pace, recalling any number of confessional 80s synthpop ballads as well as slowburn alt rock epics from the turn of the millennium. It’s the sort of song which often appears on latter era Depeche Mode records (a frequent and fair point of comparison for Mesh) but often fails to gel in that context. Mesh, though, are dialed in on exactly how ornamented a track like this should be as it swells to a golden crescendo, nailing the grace and mutual forgiveness the refrain “we were never meant to walk on water” seems to invite.
Speaking of emotional directness, much like the titular theme of Rotersand’s excellent Don’t Become The Thing You Hated from last year, the woozy depression and disorientation that comes with living in a ‘post-truth’ society hits a bit different when it’s coming from a veteran synth-driven act like Mesh. The push-pull, fascination-repulsion relationship between electronic acts and the technological ‘progress’ which allows them to ply their craft is nothing new (and is likely a frisson essential to the history of electronic music), but the crass, corrupt cynicism which bombards us from all corners seemingly the moment we wake up feels especially banal of late (note the ‘showroom dummies’ on the album artwork and the flat Chat GPT analysis of a photo of a synth setup on “1031030”), and in that regard, the earnest yet cutting emotional tack Mesh take on the closing one-two punch of “Not Everyone Is Lonely” and “Be Kind” feels well earned.
At a whopping (by 2026 standards) 69 minutes The Truth Doesn’t Matter might test modern (or new) listeners’ patience a bit, but it’s tough to mark any particular numbers for the cut list. If you’re the sort of person who’s going to appreciate the detail and care in production and instrumentation that makes “Hey Stranger” (or the post-futurepop thump of “I Bleed Through You” or “Exile”) work, you’ll be drawn in by the variances therein the record offers track by track. Thorny, considered, and very well-written, The Truth Doesn’t Matter is Mesh at their most top shelf. Recommended.
