His next job was at another company packing boxes, and in exchanged was granted permission to use the store basement as his recording studio.

[2] On 18 November, Merk released his debut album Swordfish written, recorded, produced and mixed by himself with additional help from Alexander Wildwood and Ben Jeffares.

[11] In January 2019 he announced that he was going on a four-date tour with Julia Jacklin starting 27 February, performing in Christchurch, Dunedin, Auckland, and Wellington.

[14] On 28 January 2021, Merk released the single "GOD", which debuted in SPIN Magazine's "A Day in the Life" and was described as "strapped with a disco-indebted synth line, skittering percussion, bouncing bass and repetitive mantra-esque lyrics.

[16] Merk announced his forthcoming album Infinite Youth on 25 February along with the release of his song "Laps Around The Sun", which premiered on Clash Magazine and was described as "a deft, sincere piece of songwriting, with Merk's heart-on-sleeve approach resulting in an incredibly endearing track.

[19] "Deep Dive" was described as "syrupy sweet pop" and Merk praised as "a master at creating tracks that feel minimal and sparse, imbibed with hidden gems, giving head spinning depth.

"[citation needed] The music video for "Deep Dive" was released on 17 March and was written and directed by the New Zealand band Sports Team.