Reviews (page 4 of 8)
Been trying desparately to think of something possitive to say but for me it was just uninspiring rubbish. 1
A band I’ve heard of but not listened to, so I was looking forward to this. The opening couple of bars was promising! Then he started ‘singing’, and I wished I’d have played the instrumental version I saw in Apple Music. A couple of minutes in and I’ve abandoned the idea of playing the instrumental as the warble on the penny whistle is like finger nails down a chalkboard. I suppose it matched the horrendous wailing of the vocalist. The album just got worse and worse, bottoming out at ‘The Happy End’. It then turned a small corner with the familiar and bearable ‘Godess on a Hiway’ and then the highlight ‘The Funny Bird’. Not enough to lift it to a 2, as there’s far too much experimental out of tune nonsense.
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.
Sounds like a highly sensitive teenager who has the GarageBand skills to make an album, but nothing to say. Stopped my daily streak because I did not want to listen to any more albums like this.
I remember hearing "Goddess On A Hiway" on Jo Whiley's Channel 4 show and immediately falling in love with it, the rest of the album doesn't quite live up to this nostalgic high, even though its Flaming Lips coded, but it's pretty alright overall.
It’s rare to hear a record that feels this genuinely enchanted. Brass, strings, glockenspiels, and ghosts. The homemade wonder that The Flaming Lips tapped into. You can hear the joy of people making art for the love of making art. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions: - Holes - Opus 40 - Goddess On A Hiway - Pick Up If You’re There
I guess I'll start this review by talking about the whole Flaming Lips thing. So, this album, Deserter's Songs by Mercury Rev, has been frequently compared to the works of the Flaming Lips, specifically their 1999 album The Soft Bulletin. Now, the two albums do have legitimate factual connections, mainly on the production side of things, so there is reason for the two to be associated with each other from a historical standpoint. But what about a musical standpoint? We are here to talk about the music after all. Well, the musical comparisons aren't unwarranted. There are sonic similarities between the two albums. Fortunately, they're not overwhelming. Deserter's Songs stands on its own just fine and avoids the whole "standing in the shadow of a better album" thing. I do prefer The Soft Bulletin myself, but Deserter's Songs is still a good album. It's not "1998 Album of the Year" good like what NME said (because of course it's NME), but still a solid showing. The sounds are neat and varied. You've got what sounds like a whistly type instrument. It might be a bowed saw, but it might be something else. The album sounds good. The writing's solid. The singing's not my favorite, but I don't dislike it. I don't care for every one of this album's songs, but the best ones are pretty damn good. "Holes," "Tonite It Shows," and "Goddess on a Hiway" especially are great. I do like this album quite a bit. I might not go back to it a ton, and I can't call it a must-listen, but I'm glad I did hear. It's nice. High 3/5.
A bit of a hidden gem. As good now as it was when it came out.
It was good I enjoyed it
Favorite: The Happy End (The Drunk Room) His voice is a 2 star but the instrumentals are 5 star, I can't tell if I hate this album or love it. Probably hate but damn are those instrumental tracks expressive and good
I kept expecting it to pick up but it never did. Really enjoyed this album after the 2nd or 3rd listen.
I appreciate the nods to my homeland of Hudson NY, and musically the album was pretty expressive and artistic. Lyrically and vocally it left me wanting more. But hey, there is a secret song at the end. Always fun when they did that in the 90s.
25 years since I last listened to it all the way through. It's a 5 star.
The songs are fire but the voice is a bit iffy. Shades of Polyphonic Spree and Flaming Lips. Original and expansive. 3.8
shoe gazing! right, per?!
Experimental but fun
Pretty cool.
A very dreamy album
After the second listen, I was generally pretty indifferent to this album. Some songs were great and really interesting (the Funny Bird) and others were really not for me. 3/5
The voice is sometimes hard to handle. But there are some really cool moments in this
It started well. Didn’t end so well. 2.5.
Opening song made me thing of Animals in the very beginning. Has a fantasy feel with orchestration. There is a warbliness through the first several songs that adds a surreal feel. Strumming on a piano harp? Pick up if you’re there has a Radiohead feel with popping & stuff.
It was ok. But i won‘t listen to it in the future
Not as experimental or interesting as it wants to be. The song structures are pretty standard and predictable. I can hear a big Flaming Lips influence, and you’re better off just listening to the Lips if you want this sort of spacey rock done in a compelling way.
had never heard of this but really liked it. need to listen again soon
This was a pleasant surprise. Kinda shoegaze-y with a lead singer who sounds like the guy from Flaming Lips.
Never heard a theremin in the wild like that.
Even more pointless than this sentence
Interesting
Mercury Rev has churned out some very good albums, nothing in the stratosphere but enjoyable records, this is probably my favorite.
I really only like the song Holes and the rest of the record just doesn’t do much for me. It’s fine.
Should have read the wiki first. I spent most of the listen wondering why they sounded so much like the Flaming Lips. This was good but I think The Soft Bulletin was the stronger of the two albums.
I really didn't like this album at first, until I realized I was listening to the instrumental version. Oops, the one with lyrics is much better.
boring and unimpressive
There are two standout tracks for me on this album: "Holes" and "Goddess on a Hiway." I found he rest of the album just kind of OK, but then something about the transition between the closing tracks ("Pick Up If You're There" & "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp") recontextualized the rest of the album for me. There's a continuous movement towards going away throughout the album, interspersed with yearning introspection. And also there are holes, dug by little moles.
Amazing at times, wtf at other times
Enjoyable but I imagine both Yoshimi and Soft Bulletin are on this list, so why is this here?
I really did not like this. It felt like the whole thing was the initial part of a rock opera or concept album and then it would just stay there. The singers voice was grating which normally I can move past if everything else is enjoyable. I don't see a place for this on the list
Certainly an album of all time
I liked it. Felt like it was going to be similar to a Beach House album off the intro track but was pleasantly surprised by the type of rock ish music it was.
Really good listen to at work music
Boring
Really good album! Reminds me of Flaming Lips in terms of the symphonic backing and other vibes. I could do without the couple of crazy track (eg The Happy End) but otherwise it’s comfortably a 4.
You can definitely feelnthe sonic overlap with Soft Bulletin, but ultimately that album is better. Plus, the singer of this band does that thing where he's pitching his voice like he's singing lullabies for children, and that wears thin over time.
Like a not-as-good Flaming Lips. Individual songs would be almost promising, but ultimately fall a little flat for reasons that were hard to put my finger on. A 3 but a low 3.
Nunca tinha ouvido e nem conhecia a banda, gostei...um som que mistura nostalgia, clima etereo, bem gostoso
Some good stuff
A strange mixture of the Bestlesque, glam and touches of Spaceman 3
6 Quite nice. Not super nice but really quite nice.
I started out thinking "it's OK, wouldn't listen again". A few tracks in, that'd changed to "actually I quite like some of this, still probably wouldn't listen again". By the end of the album I realise I'd happily listen to it again. Which was nice.
Saved by 3 good tracks, but the rest was either weird, lame or awful. The second song sounded like something Tiny Tim would sing in the Muppets Christmas Carol. Probably a 2.5 rounded down.
It's ok.
I really like a couple of songs but a whole album got very annoying
god blanding af psychedlia neo, dreamy, chamber agtig. Det er egentlig et meget smukt album og angiveligt er det indspillet af nogle af bandmedlemmerne fra the band, hvilket er rimelig cool. så meget rammer det ikke lige mig, men det kræver nok et revisit. JEg er stadig meget mere til hårdere rock pt og noget som er mere råt.
Good vibes
Зе Флэйминг Липс 0.1. Странно. Интересно. Лучшая песня - Opus 40.
I didn't like any of the tracks on this album. However, the music didn't bother me either. I don't need to hear it again, but it doesn't make me want to turn it off. 3/5
Not really my jam. Thought the album was a bit boring to be honest. The songs were okay, but every song felt like the slow song of the album.
Similar vibe to the cure albums on this list but more ahead of its time. I really liked this one.
Like Flaming Lips but more boring and less musical.
Has a really pretty first song that feels like an uplifting dream. The rest of the album kinda feels like they're trying to recreate that but it's not as good. Goddess on a Hiway is a bop tho.
Ähh a little weird. First song and one in the middle goddess on a hiway were good. Otherwise too psychedelic
The album started out fun and felt like it got more and more underground as we went. It was fine until the happy end and then it just got strange. Not a fan.
This was my first listen and not sure how I missed this band. This is right up my alley. Love the songs and production. Will check out more of their catalog.
Solid þristur. Náði mér ekki alveg í fyrstu en seinna rennslið skárra.
Mjóg góð plata. Ótrúlegt líkt Flaming lips enda tenging, en gaurarnir syngja eiginlega alveg eins.
-hmm. another case of “not bad by any means but does not make me feel anything and was very difficult to connect with individual songs -like there were certain elements i liked. the chamber pop, the vocals. but it all just kinda blended together for me in one big blob. not a huge fan -Favorites are Holes and I Collect Coins
Didn’t hate didn’t love
What a gem! I've never heard of this band before now and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this record! I can definitely see where the Flaming Lips comparison comes from which is a good thing since I love the Flaming Lips. I will definitely revisit this at some point as well as check out the band's other projects. I could see this becoming a potential favorite after some time.. Favorite track: Holes
No hate, but is this really a 'must'? I feel like I've heard a lot of this before in every day life, or tracks that sound like this. Early Beatles-like influences making a listenable album. Not really inspiring me to replay it. 2.2/5
heavy on this one
Lowkey mid
I enjoyed this one a lot each song had their own vibe while still keeping to the overall feel of the album
A really interesting and unique rock album, with some very memorable (if bizarre) pieces
Joissain kappaleissa melodia tai sointukierto kuulostaa jostain klassisesta kappaleesta lainatulta. Ja joissain kappaleessa on sellainen jännä disney musikaali viba, mutta sit on myös suorempaa pop rock soundia ja ne kappaleet on oikeasti ihan hyviäkin. Outo sekoitus näitä. Parhaat: Holes, Goddess on a Hiway, The Funny Bird, Pick Up If You're There
I wonder if this is what having sex with a prostitute is like. All the actions are there, but there is zero attraction or attachment.
2/5 Best Track - "Goddess On A Hiway"
Ethereal. Unexpectedly enjoyable.
This pops. Very different from what I expected but solid. FS: Goddess on a Hiway
I really enjoyed this even though some of it sounds like ride queue theme music at thorpe park
Magical... one of the best discoveries from the list
0/5 Honestly, I was quite surprise surprised to see so many 5/5 reviews. What did I miss?
It's...ok. Definitely not the worst thing I've heard on this list so far. Easy listening background music.
Great album
Kind of like an older flaming lips. 1/5
Oh I wish I enjoyed this more, annoying vocals and timbres ruin it. I didn't hate it though
Why does this remind me of the Flaming Lips?
It was ok. Sort of like Flaming Lips Lite.
I am befuddled at the Wikipedia page for this band describing their sound as "Americana." I am not familiar enough with the shoegaze genre in other countries but maybe Mercury Rev are South Americana? This is certainly not the Americana that I am familiar with. Mercury Rev is what would happen if The Flaming Lips and The Verve had a baby. I enjoy both of those bands, so that's not really a bad thing. It turns out the lead singer of this band used to be a member of The Flaming Lips, which absolutely makes sense. I probably could have gone without the instrumentals but this is a really good album. Since every version of electronica is in this book (sometimes with 2-3 albums by the same artist with the same sound on all of the 8 minute long songs), then there should be room for a moody album that flirts with being like The Flaming Lips. If you like the Verve or the Flaming Lips, then you will most likely enjoy this one as well. I bitch about other artists but discovering a band like Mercury Rev, even if I only know I like this one album is worth the trip through the 1001+ albums. My favorite songs are: Holes Tonite It Shows Opus 40 Goddess on a Hiway The Funny Bird
Chill psychedelic rock. Local artist from Buffalo songs about Hudson train line and Opus 40!
Nekako, nešto ovdje funkcioniše. 2-3 pjesme se baš ističu, ostalo se zaboravi dok se sluša. Čak i te bolje pjesme su sve što mi inače smeta ali dosta fine.
Forgettable
I feel like the Venn diagram of people who like steampunk and this album is a circle. I don't like steampunk. 2 stars.
was interesting in places but lost me when he started that dreadful tuneless whistling. 0 stars for that alone.
I think I like this, but I'm not stoned enough to fully enjoy this style of music.
Interesting. Thoughtful. Intellectual. Ultimately forgettable.
Estuvo muy bonito, la voz me recuerda a Daniel Johnston. Opus 40 mi favorita.
found out these guys recorded this same time and place as the flaming lips’ soft bulletin album (which i gave 5 stars) this record was interesting, i’ve never heard of these guys before, the style was unusual but i had no problem with it, only complaint is that i found the first few tracks were dragging, decent overall though and i should listen to it again
Skamba lyg būtų miuziklo dainos, bet pagal wiki suprantu, kad ne. Ir dar sako, kad šitas albumas susilaukė daug dėmesio. Įdomu. Iš pradžių labai nepatiko, po to pripratau, tokia kartais mistinė melodija užeina. Gal pora kartų dar paklausius iš vis pradės patikti.
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.
C’est pas la première fois que j’écoute cet album, et comme la dernière fois, je trouve qu’après Holes, ça devient inintéressant. Dommage car cette première chanson est incroyable, atmosphérique. Ça pourrait jouer dans un film. Goddess on a hiway aussi est bien. Mais all in all je trouve le tout très meh.
If you would have told me this was a side project by Wayne Coyne, I would have said 'of course it is - it's obvious.' But it's not. But it's still pretty great. The more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. Really happy to have been introduced to this one.
Wibes
I must have lived with someone once who played this a lot, but I can't remember who. Quite a feeling of nostalgia listening to this! Some great tracks - The Funny Bird, Goddess on a Highway
Vamos hoy miércoles con una banda que desconozco por completo. Leo en su reseña más específica de que es un proyecto musical relacionado con The Flaming Lips y puedo llegar a imaginar por dónde vendrán sus sonidos. Arranca y se mantiene tranca, etéreo, recordándome efectivamente a ellos. Dream-pop sutil, que hasta me parece que maridaría bien como soundtrack de alguna película de Tim Burton. Favorite track: The Funny Bird. Hasta mañana
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
Favorite Track: Holes
At its best, this is the kind of harmonized, string-swept grandeur that Oasis might have made if they’d grown up in the Catskills instead of Manchester. Tracks like Tonite It Shows could be sync'd to a Disney movie. But in those slower, more meandering moments, the album drifts into self-indulgence, losing the thread and sinking into background music territory.
I thought I was going to hate this. I thought it was one of those pretentious, “weird for the sake of being weird” albums. But by the end, I was all in. I particularly enjoyed Goddess on a Hiway and The Funny Bird, the former of which happens to be their most streamed song. Time to add to that number some.
It’s disorienting to hear a sound so close to another. They do sound astonishingly like the flaming lips. They even sound like Phish at times. I like it in its surprising psychedelia.
Neither here nor there
Goddess on a Hiway
Eh, some good stuff but mainly mediocre and felt a bit odd. 3 stars
really really REALLY liked the first part of the album. did not enjoy the last 4-5 songs. what the fuck
Huh, so its like Vampire Weekend, Pavement, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor all in one. I can definitely get behind that.
Just terrible, how on earth is that even on the list!
The only thing I’ve genuinely liked so far is The Happy End probably because there are no vocals
прик.
Immediately I thought very similar to The Flaming Lips, and after a quick search that's not an uncommon comparison. So of course I really enjoyed this! Some tracks were weaker than others though.
slow
Indie rock for the intellectuals.. very nice atmospheric arrangements, but also getting a bit boring
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)
This is pleasant but kinda put me to sleep. Was expecting it to pick up a bit at some point. It’s okay that it didn’t really though.
This is a really odd album. I kind of like it. I had never heard of this band at all before, so that's always welcome. I don't really know what to say about this album - it's not really what I would think of as typical shoegaze or indie as it's categorized here. There are elements of that, sure, but there's some avant garde in there, some pop elements. Goddess On A Hiway seemed familiar to me, maybe I've heard a cover of that song? I don't know but I liked that song a lot. Although I liked some of the weirder parts of this album, I think it would have been better to maybe take that stuff out and write 2-3 more actual songs. But I enjoyed it enough regardless. 3/5
Rock, Pop, klangexperimentell, 1998 -> 3
Pretty cool for a large part, but very weird some other times. Sometimes even uncomfortable like on The Happy End.
BEST SONGS: - Holes - Endlessly
I like about half of this record.
It was an interesting listen. I liked the atmosphere the album put you in. However only songs I really vibed with were Hudson Line, Goddess on a Hiway, and Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp.
Incredibly boring album, and on some songs the singer decides to use an annoying voice as well. Track 8 is quite catchy and 2:15 into the ninth track, they impress with some nice musical skills. The rest is nondescript
There were better artists by the name of Mercury that I could have been listening to
escuchado mientras hago guías practicas sobre la sexualidad humana para el preu. es olvidable sinceramente, no es malo, pero no es excepcional de ninguna forma
I was fully prepared to drop a 2/5 on this Flaming Lips-adjacent bit of ephemera, but "The Funny Bird" was so good that it genuinely caught me off-guard, and earned this an extra star.
3.5. would be a 3 but Hole increases the score
Meh 3/5
Pleasant enough, very much like listening to the flaming lips, but of course this is where that sound really come from. Got me interested enough to check out some of their other albums.
Very creative project and I appreciate it for its uniqueness. I don't feel like people were doing this avante garde psychedelic rock in the 90s. It was however a little too slow at times and the wobbling alien noises felt overused.
interesting - will listen again
Atmospheric and interesting. Heavy on the electronics
Would repeat listen Holes, Opus 40, and Goddess on a Hiway. Not an album I need to listen to all the way through again.
1.72
90’s chamber pop with some outstanding tracks
Þessic lata var lengi í gang svo kom smellurinn þeirra og svo fjaraði hún út. Mér fannst þetta ekkert spes og mun líklegast bara gleyma þessari meðalmennsku hratt og ekki hlusta aftur nema í útvarpinu.
There are a few decent tracks on this album. Not good, but decent. The kind that you could happily have on in the background and not interfere with what you are doing. However, there is quite a lot of filler in between those few decent tracks.
Why have I never heard this before? There's some excellent theremin playing here! Seriously, there's some very strong songwriting here. I find it reminiscent of the Flaming Lips, so it makes sense that one of them was in the band. Liked Songs Added: Holes Goddess On A Hiway The Funny Bird Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp
Не знаю, что такого ценного в этом альбоме нашли критики… Да, несколько нестандартная музыка, но ценности ей это добавляет не слишком много. 6 из 10.
Trippy, experimental, chaotic. I don't think I'd ever actually have enjoyed this album, but I might have appreciated it more had I been familiar with the band and their oeuvre. Going in blind, though, I wanted to turn it off halfway into the first track.
Very pleasant surprise. Sounded like the best of the mid career Flaming Lips. Light, playful and whimsical at times. I’ll come back to this one for sure. Cool band!
dreamy songs
Painfully boring. I literally have nothing to write for this. Fucking hell. At least it wasn't offensively boring, but come on.
Fun Fact: My daily album prior to this was Midnight Ride by Paul Revere & The Raiders, one of the standout tracks on this album is a rockin little tune called ‘Get it On’. During this song lead singer of the song Phil Volk sings “Don’t listen to them chatter, you’ve gotta use your own grey matter”. This is clever foreshadowing to how I wanted to stop listening to Mercury Rev’s boring murmurys and paint the walls of my workplace with my own grey matter from a boredom induced state of dread.
Holes - Instrumentals clicked with me on this. Vocals are alright too. The Funny Bird - Solid guitar solo Very plain album, nothing much stuck out to me. Hard to point at anything particularly bad, it was just all over the place, and nothing much was great about it. Very mid. Highlights: Holes, The Funny Bird
Profoundly boring. Like if you tried to make an ambient album but you didn’t give the instrumentation the breadth or interest necessary to evoke any sort of feeling. Also you put really middling vocals over it. I would need to maybe triple my dose of amphetamines to sit through this entire thing and pay it my full attention.
Enjoying this album and all Mercury Rev / Flaming Lips albums fundamentally comes down to whether you enjoy Donahue's vocals. Clearly a lot of people do, myself included, but understandably a lot of people wont be able to. The strings on this album are reminiscent of Godspeed You Black Emperor. The opening track is reminiscent of some of the best Flaming Lips songs. Donahue's delivery on this album is stellar, STOOONEYYY... THROOOWWW. A strange mix of emotion here, melancholic but not quite depressing. The writing can at times be a little cliche. The backup vocals when they chime in are interesting and stray from notable influence seen elsewhere in the album and become something quite unique and of their own. Which is definitely interesting when paired with the heavy post-rock inspired strings. I collected coins is an interesting interlude, musique concrete, esque. Experimenting with distortion, really cool. A lot of the tracks exhibit a catchy build up with a great chorus. The happy end is a track i adore on this thing, modern classical, no-wave inspired, discordant, uncomfortable loops. Love. Im really mixed on the funny bird. The start and the refrains sounds like a mid Flaming Lips track but the break downs are really good. Overall a lot to like. 8/10
Fun, enjoyable but a little forgettable. Perhaps with time and repeated listens this will get better but apart from a few flashes of brilliance there wasn't a great deal here that stood out to me. Special mention to Goddess on a Hiway, a personal favourite song of mine but not enough to push this any higher than a 3. Highlights: Holes, I Collect Coins, Goddess on a Hiway
weird ~_~
Nice discovery. There were moments where I was completely transfixed, and moments where I was bored or annoyed (Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp). Some really good instrumentation and moments throughout the album. Probably 3.5.
Wasn't really my thing.
Forgettable in my view. So much potential. Not here.
Este disco es una fumada de las gordas. Mucha psicodelia mezclada con música de cámara. Mucha gente podría considerarlo aburrido pero a mí me ha gustado bastante, sobre todo los momentos más etéreos. La voz principal me ha sacado un poco. 3'75/5
I’m too behind to thoroughly write a review but this shot slapped
Fine. Forgettable.
Deserter indeed
I struggled with this one. There were one or two moments where the band really brought it all in and it sounded great, but the majority of this record was nails on a chalk board for me. Limp songs, a voice that I really couldn’t vibe with (reminded me of Wayne Coyne’s singing from The Flaming Lips, the one aspect of that band I can’t stand), and a feeling of throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck. Sometimes that works, but for me this time it didn’t.
Lullabies for 90s indie fans. Decent relaxing listen
I liked this. Every song teasing being vaguely familiar before going a bit off kilter. Will listen to more.
This was kind of shocking to me. If you told me this came out in the 70s or mid/late 2000s, I would have believed you, but not 1998. I was confused by this inclusion at first but once I saw when it came out, I realized why. This was really ahead of its time. Some of it sounded like that pleasant mid-2000s indie sound, other parts of it reminded me of the Moody Blues. I found this enjoyable and also shocking from the time period it came out. I was about 10 years old in 1998 and listened to everything that came out. This was different from literally anything I can remember hearing. Having trouble rating this because I enjoyed it, but it wasn't always my cup of tea, but I also hear the influence it had on other artists. Wish I could rate this 3.5, but I think I need to round down because there isn't a ton of replay value for me personally.
very nice. 3.5
Boring….just boring
Budget Flaming Lips (complimentary).
This was unexpectedly better than anticipated. I can't quite put a finger on it. Still, the strange mixture of unusual arrangements, a certain somber and dark mood, and the sometimes eerie voice made an interesting listening experience. +1 for the singing saw.
Angsty circus lullaby
Another album where the music is better than the vocals. Interesting, but not quite my thing. I don't love it when signers are off key.
Honestly? A tough listen. Giving it two stars because there was at least one song I kind of dug, and I don't know what else is going to be on this list but...man, it's weird sounding stuff. Edit: having now listened to more albums on this list, fuck this album. One star. Who likes this shit? Weird, weird music. Faves: - Holes - Opus 40 - Goddess on a Hiway
After the first two songs I thought this band sounded similar to Flaming Lips, then I read the summary and saw there was a connection. Chill vibe and easy, fun listen.
David Fridmann was on fire that year. With this and The Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin. I prefer this for its more wistful blasted tone.
A strange and beautiful album that I had to double-check if I hadn’t put Flaming Lips one, as the voice seemed to me to be that of Wayne Coyne.
Super good
Different indi rock. Felt mostly dream like. I want to listen to it again, but not sure if I need to tell my friends what they're missing out on. Lingering feeling that can't quite describe
I remember seeing this band's name in magazines (and maybe ads for shows in town?) but don't remember ever actually listening to them. Starting the first song I am immediately reminded of the Flaming Lips, then I open their Wikipedia and see there are good reasons for that. Holy shit, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson played on tracks on this album! I like this.
Great 90’s album I had never heard of. The singing on some of the tracks reminds me of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
Am unexpected find.
Ehhh
Enjoyed this album - quite chilled and fun 7/10
2.
This reminds me of the flaming lips. Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 3/5
Not really my thing at all.
It’s like dreamy, psychedelic alt rock. Interesting vocals. Quite melodic. Not my favorite thing I’ve ever listened to, but I was pleasantly surprised
Great arrangements, but hard to get past the indie-Bee Gees vocal styles. Listen to the instrumental version.
Weird. Sounded underwater and muted yet hypnotic. Kinda liked it I think?
God stemning, jeg kunne godt lide instrumenterne
Hørte den her en del i gym og har ikke hørt den i 100 år, vildt lækkert plade!
I thought I knew his voice from somewhere... 😄
ok except for the turns into musical theater
v good music, and its hard not to love the circumstances from which it arose...a resigned feeling of preemptive failure enabling full creative liberation cuz u might as well go out with a bang, leading to a surprise commercial success...the demons souls formula! didnt super grab me or shake my soul or anything, but i see the potential for it to do so if i heard it in the right place at the right time,,,the songs are great, but the barely-remembered dream quality esp as supplemented with jonathan donahue's voice (kind of a twee neil young timbre) is the main draw...lovely lovely stuff!
I just loathe the saxophone. For the most part, I found this album pretty boring. Came away from every song without anything to hum.
I must say I have never listened to Mercury Rev unless it was on the radio and I didn’t know it was them. I was pleasantly surprised! I actually really enjoyed this album and its unique musical sound. It surprised me from the beginning but kept me engaged. The music and lyrics are interesting and well organized. The singer’s voice is not something I would usually enjoy but it fit with the music well. Fun listen and I will have to check out more from this band.
I was listening to these guys back when their first album, Yerself Is Steam, came out. Still love "Chasing a Bee." I remember when this one came out. It was such a different sound for them. The band had matured quite a bit since those early days. It's a good record. My only issue is that, though the music is more mature and (dared I say) mainstream, the singer's vocals are a bit jarring. It worked well on the early weird stuff, but not as much on these tracks. Still not too bad, though. Favorites: "Opus 40", "Goddess On a Hiway", "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp"
I think I am going to write a book ... and call it, "1,001 Albums That You Can Die Happy without Ever Needing To Hear"
Loved it! Will definitely listen again!
It was interesting. Started out with much more potential than I expected, but then started to drag a bit. 3/5
The tunes are cool, really dreamy atmospheric ambience too. Really don't like their voices though which does ruin things slightly. Nothing standout either, except maybe The Funny Bird (in part because of how distorted his voice thankfully is...). Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp is good too.
Pretty good Not really my style
eh. sorta like flaming lips but less weird.
Day521 - maybe not as good as the flaming lips but still a pretty album
I used to be a pretty big fan of the Flaming Lips but really got tired of em over the years. This kind of sounds like the parts of the Flaming Lips that I do still like, and that’s got to be worth something.
Mercury Rev are one of them bands I always mean to check out properly, but never do. I knew a few songs and occasionally here a song on 6music I then Shazam to find out its these. So i’m glad this made the list! I really enjoyed this, especially the weirder side. It does have strong Flaming Lips vibes, and I never knew the connection til recently, but dare I say it I think I preferred this to FL. Possibly because I overplayed a lot of FL a while back. Either way, this stands up strong in its own right as a great pysch indie record. The type of genre where I often cant tell if its sad or full of joy. A lot of songs on this remind me of when it’s absolutely pissed it down, and then it’s suddenly sunny. Like the damage is done, and now its sunny. Kinda sad/happy. Thats a word way of saying ‘I really like this, strong 4.5’
Really enjoyed this, reminded me of flaming lips straight away so cool to see there's a link. It's that sort of grand quite orchestral indie with a high pitched American on vocals. Can't remember any specific standout tracks but it was generally good. 4.5, go for 4 from one listen but will probably be more later.
Very different. Holes and Goddess on a Hiway were the stand-outs. Opus 40 was good, but it dragged. Strong start, really unexpected musical choices and song structures. However, the album dragged in the second half, where not a lot happened. Still good though.
Heard of mercury rev but never heard them. I quite enjoyed this, sound like the yeah yeah yeahs or vice versa I guess. My favourites were the opening track, opus 40 and Goddess on a Hiway, which I actually think I did recognise. 3.5
Art rock מבוצע לא טוב
Profoundly irritating. Roughly 45 minutes of insincerity, mawkish lyrics, and irritating vocals. Perhaps most annoyingly, they express just enough musicality too seem pretentious but not enough to actually impress.
I definitely enjoyed the way this one started with Holes. Endlessly continues this dreamy and melancholic feel to the album. Goddess On The Hiway is probably my favorite track on the album and Opus 40 was a close 2nd. Both songs push the envelope with added instrumentals and the quality on the production is really good. I gave this one a couple of listens and can see myself coming back to it much like some other 4's from bands I have not previously heard of. So, with that said, this gets a solid 4 from me.
Liking this one a lot out of the gate. This feels a bit like Flaming Lips for obvious reasons -- unsurprised to find from a quick glance at the wiki that this is the same producer and produced at the same time as The Soft Bulletin. Weird theremin sounding warble throughout is a nice eerie touch. Just finished I Collect Coins -- such a simple but effective instrumental. I love the way this album feels. Just magical and wonderfully sequenced. The Funny Bird is a highlight from an already well above water back half of this album. About as "aggressive" as this album has gotten in tone -- love the bass and shimmery nature of the vocals that make for a wonderfully psychedelic atmosphere. Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp is quite a jarring change in tone from the ominous Pick Up If You're There. I like the song and the burbling bassline -- just felt that this was the only weird bit of sequencing on an otherwise cohesive album. This was solid all the way through and a really nice listen. High 4 to low 5 for me.
Started off strong and flattened out a bit. Singer reminds me of Arcade Fire. While I say flatten out it was never bad, but it took it from solid 4 to low 4 -- 4 sure.
Sounded like an even spookier Radiohead at times. This album definitely gets a bump up for unique and weirdness, always had no idea what was coming next. Slight bump down on the end of that last song that sounded like Fantasia or some shit, could have done without that. Still low to mid 4 though.
I feel like I've heard this song before and probably also said it sounds like the Flaming Lips. That was an oddly fun listen. Not as polished as the Flaming Lips but still fun and catchy songs all around.
Æ likte det mer enn æ trodde æ skulle gjøre.
bin mir unschlüssig, der Anfang war interessant .. aber hat dann nachgelassen
< The Beatles
All of this high pitched singing / instrumentation is quite grating. Oh wait, is there actually one good song on the album? Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp to the rescue! God dammit why are there Looney Tunes sound effects at the end??? And I was this close to bumping up to a 2. I can see why there is an edited version of this song.
Lyrics didn’t always make sense, chill music, good background music
love all the different instruments - trumpet, orchestra, weird sound effects, clarinet, I think even a theremin?! Reminds me of Presidents of the United States (esp Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp) also did they transpose Silent Night (sleep in heavenly peace) for Endless?? what a weird choice. love it. Favs: Holes, Goddess on a Hiway, Tonite it Shows, Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp
At first I thought I liked this but the songs took quite a turn towards the end of the album. Not a big fan of the lead vocals here and some of the creative instrumentals.
This reminded me of The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd and The Polyphonic Spree. Very much enjoyed it. 3.5
this was so bizarre. atonal and screeching, then very pleasant? idk what to really make of it. they needed to put down the damn theremin, i can tell you that much
this was underwhelming at first, but i definitely enjoyed it more on the second listen. the songs are a weird blend of 90s alt rock and 60s psychedelia with some other bits peppered in, but it's at least interesting. i feel like i've heard goddess on a hiway before, but have no idea when or where. maybe it's just one of those songs that feels familiar. favorites: holes, tonite it shows, endlessly, opus 40, goddess on a hiway
Iskreno nije mi ko nekad ali je i dalje prelijepo😃
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.
No.
Haunting and spooktacular. Ghosts of melodies and paths widning off into the dark forrest
miserable
This sounded way too much like The Flaming Lips to me, but with a slightly better singer: 90s production meets psychedelic goofiness. My biggest thing about the Flaming Lips (and Mercury Rev) is that the lyrics try too hard to rhyme and yet still don't make any sense. The second half of "The Funny Bird" was pretty good, along with "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp". The rest (just like The FL) didn't do anything or me. NEXT.
I'd never heard of these guys and upon looking I saw they have been linked to The Flaming Lips. Which makes sense because that's exactly what I thought of the vocals on the opener Holes, with some Yoshimi vibes to boot. That's not a slight - that opening song is absolutely beautiful. But song two - Tonite it Shows - didn't keep the same vibe going. I read their leader Jonathan Donahue was inspired by some of his favorite childhood albums, but song two and many others felt more like campy Disney fairytale than the wispy and dreamy song one. I wanted more of the latter and less of the former. Opus 40 was another nice dreamy piece while Hudson Line was upbeat and fun. Goddess on a Hiway was a good mix of the two. Endlessly, Pick Up If You're There, and Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp were just a bit too strange. The rest weren't overly memorable.
The singing is a little weird, and I don't like the occasional lo-fi moments (e.g., I Collect Coins and the end of Pick Up If You're There), but aside from that I enjoyed the album. I thought they were playing a theremin on multiple tracks, but apparently this is the "Tettix Wave Accumulator"? Sounds like a theremin to me. Anyway, a little weird, but I like it. I'd revisit. Favorite tracks: Holes (really liked the trumpet at the end), Opus 40, Hudson Line, Goddess on a Hiway, The Funny Bird, Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp.
I thought they sounded a lot like the Flaming Lips, only to find out that they have close ties. I thought some of the songs were similar and that first half was better than the second half.
This reminded me a lot of The Flaming Lips. A solid alt rock period piece of it's time. Worth a revisit, for sure.
I liked it.
I like the cinematic-esque sound they were going for here I found it kinda captivating, the songwriting was also very solid and the stratchey vocals were annoying sometimes but helped give the album a certain tone which I think worked. Favorite Track: Endlessly
trash
Went in knowing nothing about this artist/band. I thought it was a whiskey drenched chimney smoking female on vocals, but when I see the band pic it looks like there's a guy on vocals. Sounds like a horney out of tune alley cat. It's unbearable. I'm sure Pitchfolk loves it. From "Goddess On A Hiway" and onwards the album became better. Some of it reminded me of David Lynch's music. 1st half was bad, 2nd half saved it. I can be charitable and give it a 3/5
Oh fuck off. This was like a musical or something. But not a good one. Not for me
This was alright. I wish it went somewhere more often. But I mostly liked this.
Never heard of this band before. Some experimental music, but not too impressive overall.
not bad although some songs sound like aliens would enjoy
Maybe I’m just feeling really generous today but this was really cool. Enjoyed almost all of it but some parts dragged quite a bit
Like a quieter version of the Flaming Lips. First song sucked me in and the rest of the experience was better than expected.
Sleeping behind the wheel
Wow this is chaotic. I'm not sure what they set out to do but if this was the goal....yikes.
Aggressively middling to listen to. Can't say I really hated or disliked any part of it I listened to, but I found myself quite bored with a lot of what was presented here. Probably a big influence and all for some otherwise it wouldn't be on the list, but I can't differentiate this from a billion other indie pop musicians and bands also in existance.
More and more I am convinced the author of 1,001... wants to see how much shit we will put up with. A smattering of must have truly great albums to keep hope up. However, my hope is fading. Eight straight days with the best rating a 3, and only one of those. Giving this a 1 star seems generous.
Never heard of these guys before. 1 track in so far and its awful! 2 tracks in... its getting worse. 3 tracks... guess what.... yup... worse even still. 4... I just cant. I give up... I couldn't be more bored.
spannend! am anfang war es mir zu wehleidig, dann nahm das album doch noch an fahrt auf und hat ein paar interessante songs. alles in allem aber doch eher durchschnitt
Never heard of them before. This was not bad, but unfortunately it did not do much for me. Fav Track: Holes.
Deep and dirgey. Not sure I like it.
I already liked Opus 40 a lot, and yeah, this really stands up to it (plus, this album sure is extremely "recorded at the same time as Soft Bulletin, with most of the same producers and instruments")
This is fine. Firmly between Flaming Lips and Owl City. A bit forgettable.
It kind of feels like an off-brand Flaming Lips at times, but honestly this is the kind of whiny indie stuff that takes me right back to being a teenager so I can't bring myself to dislike it :) athletes a couple of tracks on here that really are very good, but not enough that I think it warrants that fourth star.
‘holes’ is one of my most favorite songs EVER in the world…it really feels like the perfect thesis for everything that compels me about music and bands in particular, my longstanding creative focus of the past five years or so…every line a gut punch. “bands / those funny little plans / that never work quite right,” and it ending on an unresolved note (???)…of course with the knowledge that garth hudson and levon helm are playing on this album i can’t help but want to draw parallels between this song and THEIR experience in a band together too…ultimately a really weird note to begin an album on i think. it would have made an amazing final track. it just sounds like an epilogue. with that said the rest of the songs on this record failed to make much of an impression on me. i liked ‘opus 40’ because…hey! i’ve been there! and i’ve been on the hudson line too! fav tracks: holes; opus 40; delta sun bottleneck stomp
i liked that a lot! really weird and beautiful
A couple standout tracks but a 3 overall for me
Flaming hot!
It reminded me of Death Cab For Cutie with a weaker lead singer and and way more sci-fi sound effects.
Shout out JP and Charlie
This might be someone's jam but it ain't mine.
Feeling a bit guilty. I probably should've given this album more attention than I actually did. The vibes are great and I really liked the first song especially. Not the biggest fan of the vocals but not everything can be perfect.
Maybe caught me on a bad day but I got annoyed.
Overall it was OK - but after Goddess on the Hiway I thought it got really good! The last 4 songs were great. Overall - maybe a 3, wish it had more of the final few songs!
Did not like the first half of this. Guy's voice is weird! The last few songs were well made overall
Never heard of these guys, but this was pretty alright! The vocals took a little getting used to, but musically I thought this was solid. I really liked The Funny Bird, that was a cool track.
Weird and not good weird
A vocalist away from a 4 Star, shame.
I find this singer's voice intolerable. The music is great. Couldn't finish two songs.
Yeah I like it weird psychadelic at times but good voice very spiritual. It reminds me of the Flaming lips
This felt dreamy and creative. Very nice.
If this is considered some of their best work, I don't want to imagine what anything else they've put out sounds like. The vocals were really off-putting to me, but whatever "instrument" made the weird noises throughout the record made me skip through songs hoping the next would not have the same issue. 2/5
A lot of hype around this album which prompted a buy. It has a strong collection of songs, some excellent but there's a nag that it is missing something that would make it worthy for this list.
Not too bad actually—Flaming Lips-esque 🔥
I feel like I almost like this...
Reminded me a bit of flaming lips. I liked a couple of songs but mostly was meh.
Nothing. Utterly forgettable. By the time I'd finished listening to it I had no idea it even existed.
I did not like this album at all
Never heard of these guys which is a shame because they are squarely in my wheelhouse. Fun listen and now I have to go check out their catalog. A real find for me. Thank you
This was good. However, I feel like this is not even close to a 5/5. But giving it a 3 stars feels wrong. Most of the songs were very good, but there was something there that didn't quite fit. It clearly was an ablum made by the group, for the group. Which typically is a crapshoot as far as how successful it will be as an artform. This checked boxes, left some unchecked, felt good, didn't feel perfect. 3.6/5
Background chill
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
Another new one for me. It's Chewsday Innit? Indeed! Another Brit pop band, but this one sounds a bit different. A little like Flaming Lips. Nice orchestral arrangements. There's something strange about this album, and I like it. I'm glad I got to hear this, even though it isn't my jam. I can now say I heard Mercury Rev before I die, which will hopefully not be for another 50 years, at least. If not for this list, I would have never stumbled across these blokes. Opus 40 is a favorite on account of the whistling, and Hudson Line is great. The Funny Bird is my top favorite, though. It has a bit of everything. I'll give this a 3.9 rounded up to a 4 for its uniqueness.
Sounding like if a bunch of Tim Burton characters met at a psychedelic parade and decided to form an indie rock band, this album was an unexpected delight. I had never heard of these guys before, and the album title and cover really gave no good clues what to expect, but there was plenty here for me to enjoy, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to discover these guys. This combination of interesting layered musical textures and moments, danceability, and whimsy (Bring back whimsy! We could all use some these days) just does it for me. The orchestral swells, glittering guitars, and ghostly falsettos give a dream-like feeling of melancholy and innocence. The band reminded me a bit of Flaming Lips in their sound, and I do see that they are indeed directly connected to that band through shared history. Like them, this was weird and wonderful! 4.5
Not bad sounds on this, but this just doesn't do much for me
Goddess / Holes are cool. The rest are acceptable
Moody. Weird. But still listenable. Not sure if it’s a must listen but you should listen to something like this at least once. Hudson Line really hit me as a great song.
Enjoyed this, didn’t feel like it was dragging on at all, in comparison to some of the others I’ve gotten recently
3.5 It grew on me Unique songs Dreamy quality
Truly beautiful album from an incredibly underappreciated band. Saw them live just a week or two ago - what an incredible night.
Reminds me a lot of the Spiritualized album from a few days ago. Love the singing saw.
Absolutely no expectations when I started listening and found I actually liked what I heard! This is worth a revisit at some point...
I never knew someone else was doing what the Flaming Lips were doing......or maybe the Lips were doing what Mercury Rev was doing. Chicken or egg? Either way I like it
This album does not fuck. At all. It is entirely possible no album has ever fucked less. Is that a theremin I'm hearing or a glockenspiel? Who gives a fuck. Never ever listening to this shit again.