Vic Chesnutt had released a half-dozen albums to considerable critical and cult acclaim before teaming up with Kelly Keneipp and Nikki Keneipp for the 2000 release Merriment. Many would simply classify that CD as a Vic Chesnutt release, and question whether Vic Chesnutt and Mr. and Mrs. Keneipp should be considered as an entity of its own. But the album is credited to Vic Chesnutt and Mr. and Mrs. Keneipp, not Chesnutt alone, and the Keneipps did make important contributions to the final result. The trio idea came about when the Keneipps formed the Backburner label. Kelly Keneipp was already known in the indie scene as the chief collaborator of Georgian indie-popster Jack Logan (who plays bass on one track on Merriment); his wife Nikki Keneipp had contributed to Logan's 1999 album Tinker. The Keneipps got Chesnutt for the Backburner roster, and played most of the instruments on Merriment, as well as writing all of the music; Chesnutt supplied the lyrics and some guitar. The result was a decent, often piano-oriented, low-key, moody alternative singer/songwriter album. Chesnutt's lyrics as usual were more somber and free-associative than most of his singer/songwriter competition, in either the mainstream or the indie scene. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide