Mercury Rev - The Light In You
9/10
Does anyone else ever feel like they’ve missed out on something due to a simple, if foolish, mistake? Years ago, I saw a band at a festival that were – on that day at least – absolutely bloody awful. I was convinced that it was Mercury Rev and have avoided them ever since. Doing a bit of research for this review, it turns out that the band I saw that day were Pavement, who’ve since made some of my favourite music. Well, that’s by the by. What matters is that Mercury Rev’s first album in seven years is a glorious, 60s tinged, string-drenched psychedelic-pop-rock monster. I’ve heard people talk about summer albums and winter albums but this may be just be the perfect autumn album. Central Park East and Autumn’s In The Air provide gorgeous melancholia, perfect for scuffing through fallen leaves in a park, whether that is Central Park or Waterloo Park. It is clear that the core duo of Jonathan Donahue and Grasshopper have been looking back to their influences. There are references to “Beatle George” Harrison, psychedelic rock, blue-eyed soul, playing vinyl, Pretty Things, Rascals, Dream Syndicate, juke boxes and Shindig. Despite that, this is not retro and is far from pastiche, with a delicious, modern, contemporary sound.
9/10
