The Mermaids play underground rock and roll that borrows from influences including folk, old-school country, and punk rock. Their music explores outcasts and underdogs (both historical and present), traveling and returning home, hidden energies and secret moments of grace, freedom and dissent, the cross-pollination of cultures and the movement of ideas, and our efforts to come to grips with the past and imagine the future.
Built around the core duo of Hillel Arnold and Josh Gardner, their recorded output includes regular collaborators such as Chris Brown (The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Citizens' Band, Open Hearts Society), Jason Mercer (Ani Difranco, Ron Sexsmith, Jesse Harris), Tony Scherr (Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Ana Egge), Kate Fenner (Bourbon Tabernacle Choir), Anton Fier (The Feelies) and Andrew Whiteman (Broken Social Scene, Apostle of Hustle). Since forming in 2004, they have released four records and performed at venues in New York, Boston, Toronto, and Washington, DC.
The Mermaids released their self-titled EP in 2005. Recorded in Brooklyn with Chris Brown, it featured contributions from Tony Scherr, Jason Mercer, Carolyn Mark, and Melwood Cutlery.
They followed up in 2010 with their first full-length LP, On Wolfe Island, which featured Anton Fier, Kate Fenner, Andrew Whiteman, the Abrams Brothers, and many others.
In 2016, The Mermaids released their second full-length record, Amphetamines & Flowers. In contrast to the full sound and many contributors that characterized previous records, this album featured a more stripped-down production, performed entirely by Hillel, Josh, Chris Brown (keyboards), Cam Giroux (drums), and Eli Abrams (bass).
Faith, released in September 2026 on Wolfe Island Records, saw a return to the expansive sonic landscapes of their earlier releases. Recorded and mixed entirely on Wolfe Island, the album brought back many previous contributors (Chris Brown, Jason Mercer) while also drawing on new instrumentalists and vocalists including Joey Wright, Liam Cole, Sarah McDermott, James "JT" Taylor, and Rocky Roberts.