Mercury Rev - 'Snowflake Midnight' (V2) Released 29/09/08

We all remember ‘Deserter’s Songs’ don’t we? In case you don’t, it was an opulent masterpiece of a record, a gigantic wave of brilliant songs that finally propelled sonic astronauts Mercury Rev out of the psychedelic wilderness and into the wider public consciousness.

Unfortunately, it is a feat that the band have found difficult to follow up and, in the style of Joseph Heller and Catch 22 they have failed to write anything as great since (“who has?”, you cry out and believe me, I hear you!). The subsequent records, whilst underpinned by Jonathan Donahue’s distinctive flashlight in the dark forest vocals and containing some outstanding moments have failed to ignite the soul in such a way and, frankly have come across as diluted attempts to recapture the magic.

‘Snowflake Midnight’ is seemingly their latest attempt at reinvention, to recast the mould with some electronic layers, squelching synths and soundscapes punctuated by those still sumptuous vocals and in places, jungle beats. It sounds like Jack Kerouac blasting the beat generation off into space for the first time and may well make you want to attempt a moonwalk (again). Well, that’s a first for a Mercury Rev record, for sure!    

This would be a great move if bands like MGMT hadn’t already beat them to it this year, taking the Neil Young template and twisting it into new melodic, playful and endlessly danceable shapes.

Not that the album is without merit, it just sounds transitional, a bit like a leap into the unknown without a true resolution. ‘People are so unpredictable’ is a mighty slab of ‘See you on the other Side’ confectionary, a revisiting of their old selves that finds them on truly fine form. ‘Runaway Raindrop’ is an unpredictable synth rock opus that thankfully doesn’t invite Rick Wakeman to the party but feels like a genuinely thrilling Mercury Rev Mk 3, beyond the drugs and classic albums and into brave new world territory.     

The lyrics aren’t bad but for a man who once delivered the fantastic “You had to choose a side to lose and divide yourself in two. The way you were long before you were a walking civil war” on ‘Tonite it shows’, singing “I’m beating like a butterfly’s wings” repeatedly isn’t exactly up there is it?

The thing is, I’m all for Mercury Rev trying to stop becoming ‘The Band’ in the last waltz and jumping headfirst into the modern age but it feels forced and somewhat contrived. Like your dad running out and suddenly buying a motorbike or a lot of new stereo equipment it is cause for concern and symptomatic of a mid-life crisis. We can only hope that they get through it as they clearly still have talent to burn and are capable of creating dream like pop that is totally removed from the kitchen sink dramas clogging up the charts these days.

I know in my heart that you have another masterpiece somewhere in there so to Jonathan, Grasshopper et al this is a simultaneous challenge and a prayer that you can reach your next destination beyond this musical purgatory and deliver it.