What does it sound like?:

Mercury Rev – sometimes seen as a less irritating Flaming Lips, sometimes as a less morose Pink Floyd fronted by Emo Phillips (no? just me then) have been away for a while. Yet their world still remains as much as it did – Jonathan Donahue’s vocals, often drenched in reverb, are aching but joyous. Songs explode with cymbal rushes, strings tickle the clouds as they soar and the enthusiasm is infectious.

‘Am I the only lonely boy to ever walk in Central Park?’ Jonathan muses as he wanders round the New York greenery seeing only couples in love – we’ve all been there. In fact the only time I ever walked round Central Park I saw three couples fresh from weddings getting photos taken at different points around he lake. The enveloping trance like mood makes you wish there were no gaps between the tracks as they could easily melt into one long dreamlike suite. ‘Emotional Freefall’ is what this band deal in, you have to let go and live in the moment, go with the feeling. Women are only seen in imagination, too perfect to exist, memories too painful to recall or too bittersweet. Mercury Rev deal in the head and the heart as one.

This isn’t a “by numbers” album which you could say about some of their post ‘Deserter Songs’ output. The songs have little moments in their arrangements that catch your ear and the last part of the record takes a real diversion. ‘Sunflower’ is a lost Monkees B-side from the summer of ’67, ‘Moth Light’ has guitarist and arranger Grasshopper on lead vocals seems to encapsulate the album’s vibe “Let’s just give it one more try/Ain’t got nothing to lose’. The album closer, ‘Rainy Day Record’ treats the vinyl revival as a metaphor for new horizons in life and contains a Mark E Smith impression – all in all, a wonderful surprise to hear them reinvigorated and looking to the sky again.

What does it all *mean*?

Their best album since ‘All Is Dream’ I’m saying, a real grower.

Goes well with…

The need for a soothing and positive world view at the end of a tough day

Release Date:

Might suit people who like…

Positivity