Deserter's Songs

This sounds like the Flaming Lips' lesser known cousin. A little bit more delicate, a little more misunderstood. I can envision someone putting this on in an apartment in 2004, taking a massive bong rip, sinking into a couch, and fantasizing about making out with Zooey Deschanel. Take that picture, put it inside a snow globe, add a healthy dusting of glitter, and you've got yourself this album. All kidding aside, this was a quite nice surprise, especially after the garbage lineup from last week. A little too precious at moments for me, so not a full fiver, but definitely gets me as hard as a leaked Zooey Deschanel nudie.

The most forgettable album I think I've ever listened to. But then, if there was one more forgettable than this one, how would I know?

Never heard of this album or group. - Sounds like a movie soundtrack - Very dreamy and melancholic - During "Endlessly" there's a part that sounds like 'Silent Night' - Opus 40: "Tears in waves, minds on fire"

Holes alone is a 5.

Not bad, but didn’t really get me excited. Not annoying though.

10/10 This is NOT the greatest album ever. Maybe it wouldn't make some people's top 1001 - I wouldn't hold it against them. It's not a 10 if I could be ston-cold objective about it. But I can't. It hits me hard in whatever it is we call a soul. It captures a time and takes me back there. It fills me with the emotions of that time, of being that age. It reminds me of my friends and my future wife who I'd just met. It reminds me of the hope I held at that time and the abandon of enjoying myself with life stretching out in front of me. And yes, Opus 40 might make me cry a little bit because for 4mins, it almost becomes too much. "I'm alive" she cried, "But I don't know what it means". That lyric defines it all So what I'm saying is that I hope YOU have an album like this, that holds memory and emotion, love and joy, nostalgia and hope. It almost certainly won't be this specific album, but that is not the point. There will be an album out there that does it for you and I hope you know what it is. I think that might be what they call Art... P.s.Even the Devil Horn on Hudson Line is almost acceptable.

Sometimes the drugs do work

Is this actual music, or the soundtrack to Plan 9 From Outer Space? COOL IT WITH THE FUCKING THEREMIN! Would not recommend.

This is one of those albums that has grown on me over the years. From originally thinking of it as a good album but not holding much sway over me, to sinking into my brain and becoming a favourite of mine. In this album they come off as a psychedelic R.E.M. swirling around the edges of dream pop tinged Americana. At first I found Jonathan Donahue's vocals left me on edge but now they have a calmling quality over me

Yeah I am very shocked at how good this album is, this is such an incredibly formatted album with a unique sound on every track. I love the ethereal and psychedelic pop sound that is delivered throughout here, most tracks have me floating. The lows are still decent, but the highs are fucking incredible. Favourites: Holes / Tonite It Shows / Endlessly / I Collect Coins / Opus 40 / The Funny Bird / Pick It Up If You're There

Whimsical, magical, eccentric alt rock that sounds as much the passion project as it was intended to be. The back half is good but not great, but the front half is stupendous. A clear example of the musical quality that’s achieved when bands make music for themselves instead of a label or an audience. Standout tracks include “Holes”, “Tonite It Shows”, “I Collect Coins”, and “Opus 40”.

Kind of a Tim Burton twist on The Flaming Lips. I like.

J'ai bien aimé Deserter's Songs même si le sujet abordé me paraît assez léger. Cet album raconte l'histoire d'un jeune lycéen fumant des chichas goût double pomme un soir où ses parents sont sortis au cinéma. Après un geste maladroit, il renverse le charbon sur le parquet, qui se retrouve brûlé. Il décide alors de casser l'ampoule qui éclaire la chambre et de disposer ses morceaux sur la partie noircie du parquet. Ses parents rentrent vers minuit et découvrent avec stupéfaction les dégâts causés par la pipe à eau. Il ne croient pas un mot de ce que leur raconte leur fils, le chanteur des Mercury Rev, et lui ordonnent de faire ses valises et de quitter le domicile familial.

This band flopped commercially and decided to make one album for themselves before breaking up, and this was the result. It grabbed my attention and didn't let go. There's a bit too much of the musical saw, and the singing is a bit weak, but they don't lack for heart, and it shines through. Not what I expected when I spun it up. Best track: Holes

Man, that's an album that feels dated. And not dated to 1998, when it came out, but dated to somewhere around the middle of the 60s. And not in a good way. I was going to give it a "meh" 3-star review but there were multiple saxophone solos which lost it another star.

Just terrible, how on earth is that even on the list!

This is extraordinary in every respect. I think the human impulse is to react to pain and desolation through fear and anger; engaging in behaviors that perpetuate the pain, for the perpetrator and for those unfortunate enough to be in their orbit. Anyone who can, instead, react to pain and desolation through reflection and sorrow and use it as motivation to make the world a more beautiful place, (artistically, socially, personally . . . ) breaks the chain and is, in my estimation, a hero of the highest order.

"Goddess on the Highway" has been one of my favorite songs since high school, so I've been aware of Mercury Rev for years, but I never fully listened to the album until now. It's a fascinating mix—at times beautifully ethereal, at others experimental and almost hymn-like (Endlessly reminds me of Silent Night). Overall, I really enjoyed this one.

What a surprise! Loved this album. Reminded me of The Flaming Lips or the Polyphonic Spree.

Sounds like Flaming Lips a bit. (Turns out this album was being made in the same studio with the same producer as Soft Bulletin :0)

This is probably Mercury Rev’s most popular record and for good reason. The amalgamation of alternative rock, pop tendencies and weirdo instrumentation is pretty great here. I had heard some Mercury Rev before this but never a full album, glad I listened to this one. Favorite song: Goddess on a Hiway Least favorite song: Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp

The only thing I’ve genuinely liked so far is The Happy End probably because there are no vocals

not bad although some songs sound like aliens would enjoy

I didn’t listen to the entire album but what I heard was alright, if a little maudlin. 3*

Lowkey mid

slow

1998. It's a bit twee, and somewhat dull. Each track seemingly starting with twinkly synth! Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ Bored★★☆☆☆(4/10)

So good

First track Holes was absolutely doing my nut in cause I knew I recognised it from somewhere. Turns out it was in Sing 2 which I’ve watched with the kids approximately 600 times lol. As for the album, it was bloody great. I was on the fence about giving it the full 5 stars until Goddess On A Hiway which is an OUTSTANDING track. I ended up listening to it 3 times before continuing on. Second listen of the album I loved it and had zero doubts about the score. Top Track - Goddess On A Hiway

A great album and a bold change of direction for the band. The vocals and lyrics are just perfect and are accompanied by a haunting and soaring unique sound. Holes, Tonight It Shows and Opus 40 are the standout great songs, but the whole album has a majestic flow to it. The follow up album All Is Dream is equally as good too.

This is why I got in on this little project -- unexpected gems like this one. Just a lovely, quirky album with plenty of heart and interesting instrumentation. (Theramin solos? THERAMIN SOLOS!) Liked this quite a bit. Certainly worth spending some time with.

An album they made just for themselves; funny how that works!

A stone cold classic. A go to album since its release. Jonathan's vocals are so fragile they bring beauty and warmth to my soul every time I listen to this, the soaring guitars, mellow vibe, wonderful. A much more accessible album for the casual listener than their previous albums, and one of their least experimental. At this point in their career they had toned down their excesses, after sacking the rather odd David Baker. This is a band hitting their stride, almost mainstream I dare say. Tracks from this album were played at both my wedding receptions. I got to see them recently for the first time since the 1990's and they played 5 tracks from it. The two I went with were scratching their heads much to my bemusement. A masterpiece, not a bad track to be seen here.

25 years since I last listened to it all the way through. It's a 5 star.

I enjoyed this one a lot each song had their own vibe while still keeping to the overall feel of the album

Magical... one of the best discoveries from the list

Great album

J'écoutais pas mal Mercury Rev dans les années 90. Je voudrais écouter ce qu'ils font dans les années 2010-2020 pour voir comment ça a évolué.

Ça me parle beaucoup. Probablement la plus belle découverte pour moi à date! Le côté exploration sonore du trip hop avec la vibe du indie rock. Alice a aimé aussi elle a dit j'aime ça les affaires comme Patrick Watson.

Never heard of the album or the band and it was brilliant.

Wow, yeah I agree. This was the best album the Flaming Lips didn’t make

Iskreno nije mi ko nekad ali je i dalje prelijepo😃

Wow! I have never heard about Mercury Rev before, and that's a shame, because I found this album to be incredible. It sounds excellent and has some really good songs. This could easily be one of my new favorites. Favorites: - Holes - Endlessly - Goddess on a Hiway - Opus 40 - Tonite It Shows

Truly beautiful album from an incredibly underappreciated band. Saw them live just a week or two ago - what an incredible night.

Absolutely brilliant. Really enjoyed it

i had never heard of Mercury Rev before today and i fell in love with this album within the first minute. creative, poetic, catchy as hell when it's not being weird as hell, this might be my favorite album of the project so far. feels like a direct influence for some of the big aughts indie rock groups like MGMT, Foster The People and Portugal The Man. i saved a couple tracks to my personal playlists, namely Holes, Opus 40 and Goddess on a Hiway. i can't believe i've never listened to this before. 5/5 i would inject a theremin into my veins if i could

Orchestra pop, Baroque pop, Chamber pop, I don't care what you call it I love it. Absolutely one of my favorite genres of music, and I'll be a lot more positive on it then a lot of other genres. This isn't close to the best example of Chamber pop on this list (The Divine Comedy, my beloved) but it's great stuff. The Funny Bird is beautifully explosive and Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp is one of the best album finishers I've ever heard. Absolutely love it.

This was sorta boring and repetitive, but worth trying

Never heard this before and I loved it. Obviously it's not groundbreaking to say they sound like Flaming Lips but I'm surprised I've never really come across Mercury Rev given how much I like FL Will definitely be giving this some more spins as it sounds like an album that would grow on you. There's a lot going on and it's mostly awesome!

Feels like an amalgamation of a lot of stuff I really dig - Neil Young-esque vocals, Flaming Lips influenced instrumentals, and even a bit of Chemical Brothers influence. Very cool. I will have to check them out more.

the only thing I’ve listened to from these guys before was super psychedelic. This is more nostalgic and orchestral. Love love love the opening track. Sometimes surprising guitar riffs. I think solid 4.5 for me.

Fantastic album, loved every song

I really enjoyed this! It reminds me a lot of The Flaming Lips. Very cinematic and haunting

Here a lot of influence here. Way ahead of its time.

I liked this way more than I expected. All the songs are good, and it’s pretty different from other albums on the list.

I do love this album so much richer and mature than the Flaming Lips who they are always compared to. I did own their previous albums and enjoyed the noise and chaos so when this came out I was shocked and I have not enjoyed subsequent albums either. Something special about this one start to finish.

I lived in England for a year not long after this album came out. Although Mercury Rev are American, it was everywhere during my stay in the UK -- on the telly, in friends' homes, on the shelves of HMV and other record stores... And I suspect that it's because of the LP's reception in Britain that it's in this list. So many good melancholic songs with lush and extremely original instrumentations in there: "Holes", "Endlessly", "Opus 40"... At the time, I remember that out of all those songs, only "The Hudson Line"'s relatively hackneyed and middle-of-the-road sax arrangements rubbed me the wrong way. But decades later, I've even warmed up to this cut, just because it's bookended by such memorable moments anyway... Jonathan Donahue's frail-yet-fully-emotional vocal performance is so effective in this great record. I especially love the latter's second side, probably because it also goes to more ominous territories once in a while, bringing nuance and dynamics to the whole tracklist. Back-to-back "Goddess On A Hiway" and "The Funny Bird" are among the greatest one-two punches I have ever found in any album. Rarely has twilight music sounded so persuasive and cinematic. Music to daydream about love and loss until the end of times ... 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 5. 9.5 for more general purposes (5 + 4.5) Number of albums left to review: 13 (plus the 80-ish extra LPs listed on this app, included because different past versions of the book have mentioned albums that have since been dropped in subsequent editions) Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 425 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 253 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 313

Schramm

An absolute favourite of mine - opus 40 and goddess on a hiway transport me back to my student days where life was simpler - immense

Every song feels like some kind of disturbing fairytale

Such a great record, and a perfect companion piece to The Soft Bulletin. Too many highlights to count.

Soft and peaceful indie rock with some unique instrumentation that would go well with some sort of fairy tale movie soundtrack. I was really pleasantly surprised by this album.

Wonderful stuff. Chill and serine.

Bloody hell I love this album.

Released the month I turned 16, and the part of the soundtrack of the next few years. A band I was only vaguely aware of before this album, but I looked out for everything they didod afterwards given how good this is. I loved Mercury Rev - and still

Fantastic. Goddamn do I love the strings, and the instrumental interludes are awesome. Great album with a great atmosphere

Adore. Not listened to this in full for so long but what a joy.

4.75

I must have been a total asshat to be around in the late-90s. Having had the IMMENSE Ágætis byrjun earlier in the week (9 out of 5 stars), I was delighted to see this pop-up in the feed. Adored Mercury Rev, and, whilst not quite in the same class as the Icelandic chaps, the vocals & lyrics of Jonathan Donahue absolutely take you off into another world. Loved it (but only 5 stars)

One of the most beautiful albums I’ve heard. The musical notes are well done and voice is beautiful!

Peaceful and interesting sonically. I can very much imagine lighting up a J and putting this on. Big fan of how it ends too. “Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp” put this over the hump to 5 stars (and I do kind of miss weird hidden tracks on albums).

Surprisingly great, for such a gnangnan album

This is like a wizardy soundtrack. Somehow I both cannot remember any song and keep listening. I get swept away in another dimension at every listen

Going into this album, the most important factor in me loving it is the fact that I also love—and a LOT more, I should add—The Flaming Lips' album THE SOFT BULLETIN. I'll save my exact opinions on it for when that actually shows up, but to put it in short, as a piece of music it's a very good contender for my top 20, if I ever wanted to make one. Anything that sounds like it would naturally appeal heavily to me. Although, with that said, while there are a rather large number of spots here that remind me of THE SOFT BULLETIN, I don't wanna act like DESERTER'S SONGS isn't its own thing. It's not a dream pop record, for one; and it's not nearly as grand as THE SOFT BULLETIN can be. DESERTER'S SONGS is way more of a rock record, with its saxophone lines and guitar parts. And while DESERTER'S SONGS is more restrained, it's still a very cinematic listen—I mean, they wouldn't master this thing to 35mm film print if it wasn't. Plus it's got a few more musically odd moments than THE SOFT BULLETIN did—just check that untitled instrumental appended to the last track. But I don't wanna act like my love for THE SOFT BULLETIN isn't a factor here. It absolutely is; I wasn't excited to listen to this thing until I saw that there was a whole section on its Wikipedia page about how they shared the same producer. Not to mention, to quote Wayne Coyne, "I think without DESERTER'S SONGS being so significant, THE SOFT BULLETIN would probably have not been followed too much." In that sense, at least, I owe a lot to DESERTER'S SONGS. Without it, it's likely I wouldn't have "Waitin' For A Superman" or "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate", or even "Fight Test", "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Part 1)" or "Do You Realize??". In that sense, even if I didn't like it, I'd have to give it SOME respect. And luckily, I do like it, a lot. Not as much as THE SOFT BULLETIN, but it's up there. And me relating it so much in my mind to THE SOFT BULLETIN, by the way, is a HIGH compliment, believe me. I had such a large smile on my face during the first track when I realized how similar they sound. I can't really give anything that evokes that kind of reaction from me anything less than a 5.

"Deserter's Songs" is the fourth studio album by American rock band Mercury Rev. The listed genres are chamber pop and Americana. Unbelievably, both fit to a certain degree. This was pretty much a last ditch effort for the band after a commercial disappointment from their last album. Lead vocalist and guitarist Jonathan Donahue became motivated with a meeting with the Chemical Brothers who were big fans and then composed melodies after listening to childhood records. The album was produced by Donahue and former Mercury Rev member Dave Fridmann. The album did well hitting #27 in the UK and brought them unexpected popularity in the UK and Europe. Loud strings and Donahue's high- pitched voice open "Holes." Piano is carrying the melody. There's horns. Weird synth noises. Dreamy, abstract and maybe autobiographical lyrics. Wow! Does this sound like the Flaming Lips' "The Soft Bulletin." And no surprise; Donahue was a member of the Lips on their first album, this album was being recorded at the same time as "The Soft Bulletin" and Donahue and the Lips' Wayne Coyne were exchanging ideas and both albums had the same producer in Fridmann. The third single "Opus 40" keeps the strings going. A quicker pace with piano, the Band's Levon Helm on drums and a tuba. Kind of a mysterious message as a girl keeps trying to kill herself but can't. Things lighten' up on "Hudson Line." The Band's Garth Hudson opens with the sax. An electric guitar shows up. Traveling from NYC to upstate NY. This album was recorded in upstate NY. Donahue wrote "Goddess on a Hiway" while he was in the Flaming Lips and decided to record it ten years later. Melancholy piano keys. A common rock beat and a soaring chorus. Weird guitar feedback (Lips' influence again). A doomed relationship. The album closes with "Delta Sun Bottleneck Blues." I did not see a techno house song coming. A dance beat. Playful, bouncey piano. An airy flute. Horns, synths in the background. A playful ending. This is a great album and so different from their earlier pyschedelic, shoegazey stuff (which I also like by the way). Obvious comparisons and similarities to the Flaming Lips' "The Soft Bulletin." The music is unique, cheerful, dreamy, futuristic and big sounding. The producer Dave Fridmann would be known for that. He has quite the indie music resume as a producer. This is an album needs a listen to.

Well damn, took about 2 seconds to see why people were making Flaming Lips comparisons, but then it turns into so much more. Amazing songwriting, production is so full, there's not a single song i didn't like. Even had a couple of weird interludes to satisfy that part of my brain too. Banger.

Indie “The Wall” era Pink Floyd

New to me. Awesome discovery!

I was not really familiar with Mercury Rev, knew the name of the band but not much more than this. And that was actually pretty good! Their songs are at the crossroads between a precious indie rock, with post- or prog-rock leanings, well carved melodies and a hint of shoegazing. Sometimes sounds like an updated version of the Floyds. I'll probably give this another spin(s).

Never heard of this album or group. Very dreamy and melancholic and I'm glad I discovered this, will add this along with Velvet Underground to my list of albums I need to purchase.

I bought it on vinyl. That is all

loved!

This is that late 90s/2000s sort of pop prog that I remember, but never got super into, probably because I lived in a small town and this stuff wasn't on the radio. I wish I had, but now I get to, so it's all good. This type of music feels kind running through a field with all your friends.

Banger after banger after banger. After banger. It has been a long time since I bought into an album as quickly as I did this one.

Such a good psych pop/rock album, v reminiscent of the flaming lips! I listened to this a lot back in the day when I read about it in an NME magazine (it was my friend's dad's and I picked it up cos it was about Kasabian) the mag had a feature about the 10 year re release of this cult album which intrigued me. This sound was v up my street. I especially liked goddess on a hiway, holes and opus 40, top tracks

Perfect for the nights you wanna let it all out. Sequencing is amazing

This is one of the first albums on here that reminded me it's not about loving the album, but you should definitely have listened to it at least once in your life. Great album.

I enjoyed this more than expected. Also crazy that I did not know this before. It seems like a twist on the wall with influences of a musical. I'm torn between a 4 and a 5 but I feel like this album will grow into a personal favorite so I'm going with a 5 star review for future reference

4.5/5

I... I reallllly liked this album, like first listen, loved it. So now I am going to have to wait sometime and give it a second listen. Might be just right time right place for me but this is an awesome album I have never heard of at all.

Totaly new for me and i love it!

The only question is whether Hudson Line stops this album being 5 ⭐️ or not? It is extraordinary in so many ways - a big, ambitious sound that keeps an incredible psychedelic sound all the way through Hudson Line doesn’t fit the feel or sound of the album at all and has always felt jarring But the rest is so good I think we’ll go for full marks The wailing guitar on Funny Bird probably makes up for it all by itself

This album pulled me in immediately with Holes and it didn’t disappoint from there. This is a beautifully intricate album, it sounds meticulous and messy at the same time. The vocals accompanied the breezy notes perfectly. I really enjoyed their use of what I thought was a Theremin or straight up saw but apparently they patented their own instrument called a Tettis Wave Accumulator, so that’s pretty neat. I didn’t expect to be handing out a 5 to this one but here we are, this was great. 5 stars

I loved the whimsy and experimentation of this. A new favorite!

I really loved the harmonies in the backing tracks in this album. Although the voice was a bit annoying at times, the music itself was excellent. It felt very theatrical and large, making me feel like I was watching a musical. The songs seem to meld together well, and the album feels like a cohesive thought rather than a jumble of songs. The ending’s a bit odd, but it lends itself to the thought of being a movie or something of the sort. Favorite track: Opus 40

kinda weird I played that right before flaming lips as they sound so similar. Feeling generous but I feel like this album is a good 4.5

WOW. the website made a strong first impression. holy wow. how is this totally my shit...? wowza.

An album which grows greater the older it gets. The links with The Band are clear here - Levon Helm appears on one track - with this an updated ghost tour through American history. I like to imagine they're driving through deserted gas stations and tumble down wooden shops on Highway 66.

This album is what I think psychedelic sound like, the great combination of instruments and the changes in the voice give it a beautiful sound. The first song alone it's great, however the following songs are just good too. In between some songs there are some recordings that gives the album a more natural look.

Absolutely loved this, great discovery for me, thank you