Album Review: mercvrial - brief algorithms (2022)
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| Picture Credit: mercvrial |
mercvrial - brief algorithms
Release Date: April 29, 2022
Label: Crafting Room Recordings
Format: Vinyl/Digital
Duration: 36:51
Genre: Post Punk / Neo-Psychedelia / Dream Pop
Origin: Rosarito, Mexico
mercvrial from the Rosarito at Northern West Coast of Mexico have released their first EP "the stars, like dust" in late 2019. A year later, the definitely not fake news single 'Donald Trump Love' marked the transition between the the EP and the promo phase for the album on hand. The three ex ante single 'dark stars' (April 2021), 'be that someone' (March 2022), and 'look inside' (April 2022, two weeks before album release) raised the anticipation for "brief algorithms". And thus, here we are now celebrating the publication of the first full-length album by mercvrial. On eleven tracks, including a Pink Floyd cover and an Ultravox cover, the quartet from Baja California presents a sparkling and psychedelic example for the Dream Pop and Post Revival.
For more than half an hour, mercvrial present a thrilling sound that goes far beyond the realms of nostalgia or rehash. The musicians that are responsible for these eleven bangers are cuervo (bass), rose (keyboards and marimba), ricardo (guitars and vocals), and david (vocals, guitars, and more). Also, Kevin Wade Inge played the 12-string guitar and percussions on 'Look inside', Allison Labonne added further vocals to 'waiting on a mircale', and Terry Bickers (House of Love/Levitation) is featured as a guest musician on guitars on five of the songs.
With the first beats of the drums, one can immediately figure out that mercvrial have made some serious progress and development since their debut EP was out. The sound of "brief algorithms" is far more defined and clear. Besides the great and precise production, the album's opening track 'Be that someone' reveals that mercvrial have added a lot of weight to their sound without neglecting dreamy and psychedelic elements. Even if you have not listened to "the stars, like dust", the first track will immediately covince you. The second song 'dark stars' even intensifies this sonic landscape that reaches from dynamic and autochthonous Indie Rock over atmospheric Neo-Psych and Shoegaze to the sweet melancholia of Post Punk. mercvrial thus take the greatest elements of 1980s rock music, strip them to their bones, and then give them a fantastic makeover.
The album's arc of suspense leads the audience's ears and minds to the heart-warming ballad 'look inside' and the ethereal Psychedelic Shoegaze anthem 'i'll get you home on time'. Not only due to the lyrics, mercvrial make the time stand still with this stunning track which then seemlessly transitions into the energetic Post Punk song 'dance in the dark'. Following up, 'hail of arrows' lets psychedelia and darkness increase while the massive echoes and the thrilling bass line invite the listeners to a deep lucid dream. This song is about the Christian missionary Allen Chao who for some reason thought it was a good idea to try to bring Christianity to the untouched civilization of th North Sentinel Island. Fitting the line of topics, the following Post Punk banger 'i never liked you anyway' deals with schadenfreude.
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| Picture Credit: mercvrial |
The Pink Floyd cover 'matilda mother' is a relaxing Shoegaze interpretation of the song. It marks the second meditative climax of the album after 'i'll get you home on time'. mercvrial manage to give the Pink Floyd a new paintjob without abandoning its Psychedelic Prog original. The second cover song is an hommage to British New Wave band, and to their original singer John Foxx especially. Between New Wave, Post Punk, and Dream Pop, mercvrial let the séance of the previous song end and invite their listeners to the dancefloor instead. After the cover version of 'hiroshima mon amour', the dance goes on with 'cats of cavtat', an upbeat hymn for the cats of Croation village Cavtat. And instead of letting the party at the latter part of "brief algorithms" fade out, mercvrial intensify the movement and tempo for the final track 'waiting on a miracle'. Somewhere between utopia and giant hope, this dynamic Dream Rock anthem enchants everyone to join a joyful dance.
Happiness comes on white vinyl, and this is where you get it. The debut album by mercvrial is a mind-expanding joyride for the whole soul that will your body, too. This sonic journey is psychedelic and dynamic, stunning and moving, melancholic and so full of positivity simultaneously. And for the vinyl lovers: "brief algorithms" is a perfect fit in a listening session together with "Sparse Illumination" by Blackout Transmission.
mercvrial Online:
Homepage
Instagram
bandcamp
YouTube
Spotify
Music from this release has been added to the following dynamic playlists:
MangoRotation
The Mango 100: Dream Pop / Synth Pop
The Mango 100: Indie & Alternative
The Mango 100: Indie Pop / Shoegaze
The Mango 100: Krautrock / Electronica
The Mango 100: Post Punk / New Wave
The Mango 100: Post Rock / Psych
Sound of Mexico: The Mango 100
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