Mercury Rev
"Yerself Is Steam" re-issue
(Mint)

Mercury Rev's seminal album, "Yerself Is Steam" finally finds itself back on store shelves, thanks to the folks at Mint Records. For Rev fans not familiar with the band's catalogue previous to their critical breakthrough, "Deserter's Songs", the surfacing of this early record should be a welcome treat.

While "Yerself Is Steam" lacks the studio trickery, lush strings, and the all-around cohesiveness of 98's "Deserter's Songs" and 2001's "All Is Dream", it illustrates that Mercury Rev still had full mastery of the dramatic. David Bake rhad a profound influence on the songwriting back in the early days of Mercury Rev, and this led to the inclusion of straight-up noise freakouts and hellish screaming, the antithesis to Jonathan Donahue's mellow, delicate vocals and arrangements that have graced latter day Mercury Rev. But even the guitar work here is layered, orchestrated and arranged-similar to the meticulous approach Donahue and co-conspirator David Fridmann have employed. Guitars float in and out of the mix, building up in epic fashion and fusing themselves with Jimmy Chambers' drums.

The first sign of things to come appears in "Coney Island Cyclone", a Donahue contribution that mixes phased guitars with intriguing harmonies and a catchy lead riff. This transitions into the baritone rap that opens "Blue and Black", which is reminiscent of a Floyd-ian track from "The Wall" or ELO. The space rock vibe is going full force as the track progresses, and pianos and strings collide with full dramatic flair. It's clear Mercury Rev has discovered what will be its future sound at this point, and it is a magical moment that is worth the price of the disc alone.

This newly reissued version of "Yerself Is Steam" appends the "Car Wash Hair" single and two excellent demo versions of Donahue's "Coney Island Cyclone" and the noisy album opener "Chasing a Bee". For Mercury Rev fans
who have had a hard time getting ahold of "Yerself Is Steam" in its initial pressing, this should be an excellent history lesson on the roots of one of the most unique bands in recent memory.

--Karthik