Yerself Is Steam - Mercury Rev

Advantages: Amazing music, opens up your mind
Disadvantages: I can't read all of the song titles!

...it may seem, remember that yerself is steam”. Every now and again, the peaceful verses give way to an explosive chorus, like a cave collapsing on your head, to great effect. Around 3:10 the song totally detonates and sounds out of control, but the biggest strength of this band is how they can bring it back from insanity to some kind of order in a fraction of a second. 2) Syringe Mouth: Yes, that’s the real name! Begins with some Morse code beeping ...
...nowhere with a memorable riff (compare it to that ‘No Limits’ dance song from about 10 years ago... coincidence?) to carry the song. The verses consist of double tracked vocals, one clean, and one as a distorted echo, sounding like somebody screaming along. In evidence too, is some totally insane lead guitar, played around the main riff, never hitting a real tune, but never sounding tuneless, somehow. 3) Coney Island Cyclones: The shortest track ... Read review

Advantages: It's a sexy melancholy happy fuzzy emotional security blanket
Disadvantages: ?

This album exist's in it's own world of fluffy fuzzyness which has been rarely touched on by any other band and even Mercury Rev only managed to pull it off for this album. How this album manages to sound so happy and melancholy at the same time is a total mystery as at the time all the band members hated each other and even refused to live in the same state let alone the same city (Grasshopper, the guitarist, even tried to remove the singers eye ...
...can be seen as a bad thing as the obvious total lack of rehersal that went into this album has produced a sound that is totally fresh and free flowing. Improvisation is the order of the day here, in the same manner as old jazz bands, the band members clearly never know what they are about to do before they do it. The only way i can describe this album is by calling it 'ambient grunge' although that still doesn't give much idea of the haze of good ... Read review

Advantages: top class debut from top band
Disadvantages: too short :-)

mmmm where to start well, this is quite possiably one of the best american records ever to be made although it had little or no commercial succes. The album itself is way beyond its time it appeared years before the avante garde exploration of music in britain with bands like super furry animals and the beta band. The music relies heavily on a ctasrophic blend of feedback and noise which are cleverly constructed into flowing melodies and rythm, coupled ...
...duties through out the album. There is a wealth of sounds to be heard which may require more than one listen to pick up every detail, sounds ranging form tradtional rock bands guiatr, bass, drums to flutes, brass, race car noises,howling winds, birds and all manner of animals. This is an album worth buying, a timeless piece of Americana. ... Read review

Advantages: It's happy and you don't mind hurting
Disadvantages: The last tune leaves you in a dribbling mess, or should that be an advantage?

...love or sitting in a field with your friends watching the sun come up. Despite the fact that this song is about the heartache of loosing someone that you live your life for it still makes you happy to be alive even though it always makes me cry. I can't explain it. If you've ever heard 'Classic Girl' by Janes Addiction, 'Here' by Pavement or any of 'Yerself is Steam' by Mercury Rev then you know what i'm talking about. While this album may take a bit of getting used to and you may get the piss taken out of you by your mates if you are into anything really heavy it's well worth the effort of taking the time to get to like it. Most people i know tend to listen to brutally hard techno a lot of the time and yet they all love this album without exception. It's nothing to be ashamed of.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: The CD put on a good lightening storm when i microwaved it
Disadvantages: Girly indie misery with no guts

...Whats going on with indie music these days? If this is the best we can come up with then i might as well just go and shoot myself in the head. At what point over the last 5 years did it suddenly become cool to live in a world of misery and spend your life whinging about how pathetic you are. The only remotely good tune on here is 'yellow' and that one would have been a damn sight more impressive if it had been done by a band with the guts to pull it off. The Smashing Pumpkins spring to mind, another band who constantly whinge but i can picture people stagediving and crowdsurfing to the pumpkins playing it whereas on the evidence shown here i don't think anyone would have the energy at a coldplay gig. They clearly don't. If you want to listen to stuff like this then go out and buy the first Mercury Rev album 'Yerself is Steam' and you... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Its gorgeous
Disadvantages: it's not long enough

...removed to leave something that is just stripped down but still epic. As you can probably tell, this album is unique and very difficult to describe. The closest parrellel i could draw would be the first Mercury Rev album 'Yerself is Steam' or the second half of Janes Addictions 'Ritual De Lo Habitual'. I tend to listen to this album when i am either very happy or very sad as it is very 'being cute with your girlfriend' kind of stuff but not in a cheesy manner (Oh i give up, you have to feel this album not describe it, buy it now)... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful