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{{short description|American indie rock band}}
{{short description|American indie rock band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Mercury Rev
| name            = Mercury Rev
| image            = File:Mercury rev.jpg
| image            = File:Mercury rev.jpg
| caption          = Mercury Rev at [[All Tomorrow's Parties (festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties]] in 2004.
| caption          = Mercury Rev at [[All Tomorrow's Parties (festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties]] in 2004
| background      = group_or_band
| background      = group_or_band
| origin          = [[Buffalo, New York]], United States
| origin          = [[Buffalo, New York]], U.S.
|landscape=yes
| genre            = {{flatlist|
| genre            = {{flatlist|
* [[Indie rock]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cardew|first1=Ben|title=Mercury Rev – 10 of the best|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/may/18/mercury-rev-10-of-the-best|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=May 18, 2016}}</ref>
* [[Indie rock]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cardew|first1=Ben|title=Mercury Rev – 10 of the best|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/may/18/mercury-rev-10-of-the-best|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=May 18, 2016}}</ref>
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| current_members  = * [[Jonathan Donahue]]
| current_members  = * [[Jonathan Donahue]]
* [[Grasshopper (musician)|Grasshopper]]
* [[Grasshopper (musician)|Grasshopper]]
* Marion Genser
* Jesse Chandler
* Jesse Chandler
* Marion Genser
| past_members    =
| past_members    =
* [[David Baker (singer)|David Baker]]
* [[David Baker (singer)|David Baker]]
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}}
}}


'''Mercury Rev''' is an American [[rock music|rock]] band formed in 1989 in [[Buffalo, New York]],<ref name="Bio">[http://www.mercuryrev.com/bio.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225112533/http://www.mercuryrev.com/bio.html|date=February 25, 2009}}</ref> with [[Jonathan Donahue]] (vocals and guitar) and Sean "[[Grasshopper (musician)|Grasshopper]]" Mackowiak (guitar/clarinet/other instruments) as the only constant members. The band's music has incorporated [[indie rock]], [[psychedelic rock]] and American roots, amongst other forms. Mercury Rev have been closely associated with [[The Flaming Lips]],<ref name="Trouser Press">{{cite web|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=mercury_rev |title=Mercury Rev |website=TrouserPress.com |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref> and the two bands have shared historical ties.
'''Mercury Rev''' is an American [[rock music|rock]] band formed in 1989 in [[Buffalo, New York]],<ref name="Bio">[http://www.mercuryrev.com/bio.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225112533/http://www.mercuryrev.com/bio.html|date=February 25, 2009}}</ref> with [[Jonathan Donahue]] (vocals and guitar) and Sean "[[Grasshopper (musician)|Grasshopper]]" Mackowiak (guitar/clarinet/other instruments) as the only constant members. The band's music has incorporated [[indie rock]], [[psychedelic rock]] and American roots, amongst other forms. Mercury Rev have been closely associated with [[The Flaming Lips]],<ref name="Trouser Press">{{cite web|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=mercury_rev |title=Mercury Rev |website=TrouserPress.com |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref> and the two bands have shared historical ties.


==History==
==History==
===Formation (1989–1990)===
===Formation (1989–1990)===
Mercury Rev was formed in 1989 by students at the [[University at Buffalo]], partially inspired by the [[drone music]] of composer/[[media studies]] professor [[Tony Conrad]] (then working as a teacher at the university, and a strong artistic influence on co-founder Grasshopper).<ref name="conrad">{{cite news |last1=Miers |first1=Jeff |title=Mercury Rev found magic in UB professor Tony Conrad's alchemy |url=https://buffalonews.com/entertainment/mercury-rev-found-magic-in-ub-professor-tony-conrads-alchemy/article_554f2fc9-f5e8-566e-a309-6b44958c5294.html |access-date=23 July 2021 |work=[[The Buffalo News]] |date=April 23, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> The line-up gradually coalesced around Donahue, Grasshopper, vocalist/keyboard player [[David Baker (singer)|David Baker]] and flute/French horn player Suzanne Thorpe; subsequent additions were bass guitarist/in-house producer [[Dave Fridmann]] (a music production student at SUNY Fredonia, who began by recording the band and subsequently added enough bass guitar and sonic effect parts to make himself a full band member), and a late addition in the form of drummer Jimy Chambers (who joined towards the end of initial recording sessions to "effectively serve as the frame around Mercury Rev's musical splatter").<ref name=pitchfork-yis>[https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/mercury-rev-yerself-is-steam/ ''Yerself is Steam - Mercury Rev - 1991''] - retrospective review by Stuart Berman in ''Pitchfork'', 11 February 2024</ref>
Mercury Rev was formed in 1989 by students at the [[University at Buffalo]], partially inspired by the [[drone music]] of composer/[[media studies]] professor [[Tony Conrad]] (then working as a teacher at the university, and a strong artistic influence on co-founder Grasshopper).<ref name="conrad">{{cite news |last1=Miers |first1=Jeff |title=Mercury Rev found magic in UB professor Tony Conrad's alchemy |url=https://buffalonews.com/entertainment/mercury-rev-found-magic-in-ub-professor-tony-conrads-alchemy/article_554f2fc9-f5e8-566e-a309-6b44958c5294.html |access-date=July 23, 2021 |work=[[The Buffalo News]] |date=April 23, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> The line-up gradually coalesced around Donahue, Grasshopper, vocalist/keyboard player [[David Baker (singer)|David Baker]] and flute/French horn player Suzanne Thorpe; subsequent additions were bass guitarist/in-house producer [[Dave Fridmann]] (a music production student at SUNY Fredonia, who began by recording the band and subsequently added enough bass guitar and sonic effect parts to make himself a full band member), and a late addition in the form of drummer Jimy Chambers (who joined towards the end of initial recording sessions to "effectively serve as the frame around Mercury Rev's musical splatter").<ref name=pitchfork-yis>[https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/mercury-rev-yerself-is-steam/ ''Yerself is Steam - Mercury Rev - 1991''] - retrospective review by Stuart Berman in ''Pitchfork'', February 11, 2024</ref>


The band was initially formed to score its members' student films,<ref name="sisario" /> and had a loose playing and recording existence. The band's initial music was a blend of [[experimental rock|experimental]], [[psychedelic rock]], drone and [[noise rock]]. David Baker recalls "we were in Buffalo, sitting there thinking, there's no hope of us being a band, we're not going to be [[Guns N' Roses]]. What we did wasn't considered real, because it wasn't being covered by ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' or ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', so we could just be whatever we wanted to be. We'd take the microphone and record pots and pans or guitar and make our own little world. I mean, we knew the context, we knew who Bowie was, we knew who all the bands were, but we didn't put them with us. We were just making music. It was, 'Us? Are we in a band?' Well, none of us live in the same town, we just meet in the studio and have a great time together doing stuff."<ref name=quietusbaker2013>[https://thequietus.com/interviews/david-baker-mercury-rev-interview/ "From Mercury Rev to Variety Lights: David Baker Interviewed"] - interview with David Baker by Stuart Huggett in ''The Quietus'', 12 June 2013</ref>
The band was initially formed to score its members' student films,<ref name="sisario" /> and had a loose playing and recording existence. The band's initial music was a blend of [[experimental rock|experimental]], [[psychedelic rock]], drone and [[noise rock]]. David Baker recalls "we were in Buffalo, sitting there thinking, there's no hope of us being a band, we're not going to be [[Guns N' Roses]]. What we did wasn't considered real, because it wasn't being covered by ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' or ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', so we could just be whatever we wanted to be. We'd take the microphone and record pots and pans or guitar and make our own little world. I mean, we knew the context, we knew who Bowie was, we knew who all the bands were, but we didn't put them with us. We were just making music. It was, 'Us? Are we in a band?' Well, none of us live in the same town, we just meet in the studio and have a great time together doing stuff."<ref name=quietusbaker2013>[https://thequietus.com/interviews/david-baker-mercury-rev-interview/ "From Mercury Rev to Variety Lights: David Baker Interviewed"] - interview with David Baker by Stuart Huggett in ''The Quietus'', June 12, 2013</ref>


At this early stage, several members also had other musical interests which prevented consistent Mercury Rev activity. Donahue worked as a gig promoter for other bands' concerts in Buffalo, which brought him into contact with [[The Flaming Lips]] in 1989: he then toured with them as guitar technician before formally joining as lead guitarist in time to play on their 1990 album ''[[In a Priest Driven Ambulance]]''. The latter album was co-produced by Dave Fridmann, who went on to co-produce every Flaming Lips studio album to date with the exception of 1993's ''[[Transmissions from the Satellite Heart]]''.<ref name="Trouser Press" /><ref>{{cite news|first1=Ben|last1=Hewitt|access-date=2019-08-08|title=The Flaming Lips – 10 of the best|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/mar/24/the-flaming-lips-10-of-the-best|newspaper=The Guardian|date=24 March 2016|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
At this early stage, several members also had other musical interests which prevented consistent Mercury Rev activity. Donahue worked as a gig promoter for other bands' concerts in Buffalo, which brought him into contact with [[The Flaming Lips]] in 1989: he then toured with them as guitar technician before formally joining as lead guitarist in time to play on their 1990 album ''[[In a Priest Driven Ambulance]]''.


===The David Baker years: ''Yerself is Steam'' and ''Boces'' (1991–1993)===
===The David Baker years: ''Yerself is Steam'' and ''Boces'' (1991–1993)===
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As they began to play live (and across a greater spread of venues and events), the band began to make a name for themselves as creators of powerfully experimental, often chaotic psychedelic music, with ''Pitchfork'' later recalling "in their formative years, Mercury Rev really did sound like a careening bus headed towards a fiery crash — one where half the people on board were frantically fighting each other for control of the wheel, and the other half were in the back obliviously singing nursery rhymes as the whole bucket of bolts went up in flames... [It was] less a melding of disparate sounds than a battle royale of oppositional ideologies: order and anarchy, ecstasy and terror, purity and perversion."<ref name="pitchfork-yis" />
As they began to play live (and across a greater spread of venues and events), the band began to make a name for themselves as creators of powerfully experimental, often chaotic psychedelic music, with ''Pitchfork'' later recalling "in their formative years, Mercury Rev really did sound like a careening bus headed towards a fiery crash — one where half the people on board were frantically fighting each other for control of the wheel, and the other half were in the back obliviously singing nursery rhymes as the whole bucket of bolts went up in flames... [It was] less a melding of disparate sounds than a battle royale of oppositional ideologies: order and anarchy, ecstasy and terror, purity and perversion."<ref name="pitchfork-yis" />


Although Dave Fridmann remained the band's bass player, co-producer and co-composer in the studio, he often had to step back from his role as live bass player due to increasing demands on his time as a record producer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep00/articles/dave.htm |website=Soundonsound.com|title=Mercury Rising}}</ref> Bassist John DeVries substituted for Fridmann at an increasing number of live shows, including an Ireland-and-England tour in the autumn of 1992, with Gerald Menke taking over live bass duties by 1993.<ref name=revshownotes>[https://defgav.com/rev/revshownotes.html "random notes of mercury rev's life on the road..."] on Mercury Rev Gigography</ref><ref name=revufaq>{{Cite web|url=https://www.defgav.com/rev/faq.html|title=Mercury Rev FAQ|website=Defgav.com|access-date=Sep 8, 2024}}</ref>
Although Dave Fridmann remained the band's bass player, co-producer and co-composer in the studio, he often had to step back from his role as live bass player due to increasing demands on his time as a record producer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep00/articles/dave.htm |website=Soundonsound.com|title=Mercury Rising}}</ref> Bassist John DeVries substituted for Fridmann at an increasing number of live shows, including an Ireland-and-England tour in the autumn of 1992, with Gerald Menke taking over live bass duties by 1993.<ref name=revshownotes>[https://defgav.com/rev/revshownotes.html "random notes of mercury rev's life on the road..."] on Mercury Rev Gigography</ref><ref name=revufaq>{{Cite web|url=https://www.defgav.com/rev/faq.html|title=Mercury Rev FAQ|website=Defgav.com|access-date=September 8, 2024}}</ref>


Despite considerable critical acclaim,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archivedmusicpress.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/chris-roberts-reviews-mercury-revs-yerself-is-steam-16th-february-1991/ |title=Chris Roberts reviews Mercury Rev's Yerself Is Steam, 16th February 1991 &#124; Archived Music Press |website=Archivedmusicpress.wordpress.com |date=21 February 2009 |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref><ref>[http://www.fastnbulbous.com/mercury_boces.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923124310/http://www.fastnbulbous.com/mercury_boces.htm|date=September 23, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Heather Phares |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/see-you-on-the-other-side-mw0000176204 |title=See You on the Other Side - Mercury Rev &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=1995-09-19 |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref> Mercury Rev's early releases gave them little more than [[cult following|cult]] popularity,<ref name="Trouser Press"/> although thanks to early British press interest they secured a prestigious slot at the [[Reading Festival]] for their third-ever gig,<ref name="pitchfork-yis" /> and later appeared on the smaller second stage at some 1993 [[Lollapalooza]] stops.
Despite considerable critical acclaim,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archivedmusicpress.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/chris-roberts-reviews-mercury-revs-yerself-is-steam-16th-february-1991/ |title=Chris Roberts reviews Mercury Rev's Yerself Is Steam, 16th February 1991 &#124; Archived Music Press |website=Archivedmusicpress.wordpress.com |date=February 21, 2009 |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.fastnbulbous.com/mercury_boces.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923124310/http://www.fastnbulbous.com/mercury_boces.htm|date=September 23, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Heather Phares |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/see-you-on-the-other-side-mw0000176204 |title=See You on the Other Side - Mercury Rev &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=September 19, 1995 |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref> Mercury Rev's early releases gave them little more than [[cult following|cult]] popularity,<ref name="Trouser Press"/> although thanks to early British press interest they secured a prestigious slot at the [[Reading Festival]] for their third-ever gig,<ref name="pitchfork-yis" /> and later appeared on the smaller second stage at some 1993 [[Lollapalooza]] stops.


The band's second record, ''[[Boces]]'', was recorded during 1992 and 1993, with the band's collective creative approach in full flow. David Baker later recalled "[Jimy Chambers] was really into a lot of '60s music; Dave Fridmann, his background was more jazz. He used to put Steely Dan on a lot of the time. Suzanne was of the mind set of trying to conquer all these guitars with her flute. I thought people should be able to put their thing into the mix because it is better to have everything in... The drummer was writing a song, the bass player was writing a song and it would get blown up by someone else. Jonathan was a major song writer and I did a lot but everybody got to contribute... There were pre-ideas and songs brought in but I don't think anybody would have been allowed to tell people what to do. They knew their song was going to get blown up. Maybe you don't bring in a song that you weren't ready for somebody to blow up."<ref>[https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/anniversary/mercury-rev-boces-anniversary-review/ "A Circus of Colour & Light: Mercury Rev’s Boces 25 Years On"] - article/interview by Ben Cardew in ''The Quietus'', 18 October 2013</ref>
The band's second record, ''[[Boces]]'', was recorded during 1992 and 1993, with the band's collective creative approach in full flow. David Baker later recalled "[Jimy Chambers] was really into a lot of '60s music; Dave Fridmann, his background was more jazz. He used to put Steely Dan on a lot of the time. Suzanne was of the mind set of trying to conquer all these guitars with her flute. I thought people should be able to put their thing into the mix because it is better to have everything in... The drummer was writing a song, the bass player was writing a song and it would get blown up by someone else. Jonathan was a major song writer and I did a lot but everybody got to contribute... There were pre-ideas and songs brought in but I don't think anybody would have been allowed to tell people what to do. They knew their song was going to get blown up. Maybe you don't bring in a song that you weren't ready for somebody to blow up."<ref>[https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/anniversary/mercury-rev-boces-anniversary-review/ "A Circus of Colour & Light: Mercury Rev's Boces 25 Years On"] - article/interview by Ben Cardew in ''The Quietus'', October 18, 2013</ref>


Later in 1993, the band embarked on a tour to support the release of ''Boces'', including some [[Lollapalooza]] shows during the summer. At the Lollopalooza gig at Greenwood Village, Colorado on 26 June, the band were forced off the stage for being too loud and "out of control" following an objection by the Mayor of Denver.<ref name="pitchfork-yis" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Jonathan Donahue (mercury Rev)|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/jonathan-donahue-109-guide_festivals_us_09/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920113534/https://www.vice.com/print/jonathan-donahue-109-guide_festivals_us_09|url-status=live|archive-date=2016-09-20}}</ref>
Later in 1993, the band embarked on a tour to support the release of ''Boces'', including some [[Lollapalooza]] shows during the summer. At the Lollopalooza gig at Greenwood Village, Colorado on June 26, the band were forced off the stage for being too loud and "out of control" following an objection by the Mayor of Denver.<ref name="pitchfork-yis" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Jonathan Donahue (mercury Rev)|date=January 2000 |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/jonathan-donahue-109-guide_festivals_us_09/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920113534/https://www.vice.com/print/jonathan-donahue-109-guide_festivals_us_09|url-status=live|archive-date=September 20, 2016}}</ref>


David Baker parted company with Mercury Rev after the ''Boces'' tour, citing musical and personal disputes.<ref name="quietusbaker2013" />
David Baker parted company with Mercury Rev after the ''Boces'' tour, citing musical and personal disputes.<ref name="quietusbaker2013" />


Baker remained on good terms with the band,<ref name="quietusbaker2013" /> and would later record albums as Shady and Variety Lights. With his departure, the thematically darker and musically experimental features of Mercury Rev began to disappear, with the music gradually shifting over time towards a melodic, ornate sound.<ref name="AMbio">{{cite web|author=Jason Ankeny |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mercury-rev-mn0000408696/biography |title=Mercury Rev &#124; Biography & History |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=2001-09-11 |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref>
Baker remained on good terms with the band,<ref name="quietusbaker2013" /> and would later record albums as Shady and Variety Lights. With his departure, the thematically darker and musically experimental features of Mercury Rev began to disappear, with the music gradually shifting over time towards a melodic, ornate sound.<ref name="AMbio">{{cite web|author=Jason Ankeny |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mercury-rev-mn0000408696/biography |title=Mercury Rev &#124; Biography & History |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=September 11, 2001 |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref>


===Transitional period: ''See You on the Other Side'' (1995–1997)===
===Transitional period: ''See You on the Other Side'' (1995–1997)===
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That year, the group also recorded and released the album, ''Paralyzed Mind Of The Archangel Void'', under the moniker "Harmony Rockets". The album featured a single forty minute track of mostly instrumental psychedelic improvised music. It was rated four and half stars, out of five, by [[AllMusic]]. (Fourteen years later, in 2009, the group would revisit it for performance in the [[Don't Look Back (concert series)|Don't Look Back concert series]].)
That year, the group also recorded and released the album, ''Paralyzed Mind Of The Archangel Void'', under the moniker "Harmony Rockets". The album featured a single forty minute track of mostly instrumental psychedelic improvised music. It was rated four and half stars, out of five, by [[AllMusic]]. (Fourteen years later, in 2009, the group would revisit it for performance in the [[Don't Look Back (concert series)|Don't Look Back concert series]].)


''See You on the Other Side'' failed to sell well, a situation which helped to trigger a destructive period for the band during which they fell into debt, came into conflict with their record label, lost their manager and lawyers, and parted company with drummer Jimy Chambers.<ref name=Halpin>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827073432/http://raggedwords.com/features/interview/interview-mercury-rev |archive-date=2013-08-27 |url=http://raggedwords.com/features/interview/interview-mercury-rev| title=Interview: Mercury Rev On The Record That Brought Them Back From The Brink|first=Padraic|last=Halpin|date=May 16, 2011|access-date=August 20, 2012|publisher=Ragged Words}}</ref><ref name=Cameron>{{cite web |url=http://defgav.com/rev/articles/nmenov98.html|title=The Untold History Of America's Most Pioneering Band|first=Keith|last=Cameron|date=November 1998|access-date=August 20, 2012|website=New Musical Express}}</ref> Donahue and Grasshopper, in particular, were failing to communicate with each other and struggling with their individual drug and relationship problems.<ref name="Halpin" /><ref name="Cameron" />
''See You on the Other Side'' failed to sell well, a situation which helped to trigger a destructive period for the band during which they fell into debt, came into conflict with their record label, lost their manager and lawyers, and parted company with drummer Jimy Chambers.<ref name=Halpin>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827073432/http://raggedwords.com/features/interview/interview-mercury-rev |archive-date=August 27, 2013 |url=http://raggedwords.com/features/interview/interview-mercury-rev| title=Interview: Mercury Rev On The Record That Brought Them Back From The Brink|first=Padraic|last=Halpin|date=May 16, 2011|access-date=August 20, 2012|publisher=Ragged Words}}</ref><ref name=Cameron>{{cite web |url=http://defgav.com/rev/articles/nmenov98.html|title=The Untold History Of America's Most Pioneering Band|first=Keith|last=Cameron|date=November 1998|access-date=August 20, 2012|website=New Musical Express}}</ref> Donahue and Grasshopper, in particular, were failing to communicate with each other and struggling with their individual drug and relationship problems.<ref name="Halpin" /><ref name="Cameron" />


While Grasshopper retreated to a Jesuit guest house in upstate New York, Donahue began to listen to records of children's music and to write simple melodies on piano (in contrast to the band's former psychedelic/electric compositional approach.<ref name=Mulholland>{{cite web |first=Garry |last=Mulholland |date=May 23, 2011 |title=Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/mercury-rev/mercury-rev-deserters-songs-r-review |website=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |access-date=August 20, 2012 |archive-date=March 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316034936/http://www.uncut.co.uk/mercury-rev/mercury-rev-deserters-songs-r-review |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the same time, he was invited to guest on a [[The Chemical Brothers|Chemical Brothers]] track called "[[The Private Psychedelic Reel]]".<ref name=Turner>{{cite magazine|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/06311-mercury-rev-interview-deserter-s-songs|title=Jonathan Donahue On The Troubled Birth Of Mercury Rev's Deserter's Songs|first=Luke|last=Turner|date=May 23, 2011|access-date=August 20, 2012|magazine=[[The Quietus]]}}</ref> This in turn inspired him to repair his musical and personal friendship with Grasshopper.<ref name="Cameron" /><ref name="Turner" />
While Grasshopper retreated to a Jesuit guest house in upstate New York, Donahue began to listen to records of children's music and to write simple melodies on piano (in contrast to the band's former psychedelic/electric compositional approach.<ref name=Mulholland>{{cite web |first=Garry |last=Mulholland |date=May 23, 2011 |title=Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/mercury-rev/mercury-rev-deserters-songs-r-review |website=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |access-date=August 20, 2012 |archive-date=March 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316034936/http://www.uncut.co.uk/mercury-rev/mercury-rev-deserters-songs-r-review |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the same time, he was invited to guest on a [[The Chemical Brothers|Chemical Brothers]] track called "[[The Private Psychedelic Reel]]".<ref name=Turner>{{cite magazine|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/06311-mercury-rev-interview-deserter-s-songs|title=Jonathan Donahue On The Troubled Birth Of Mercury Rev's Deserter's Songs|first=Luke|last=Turner|date=May 23, 2011|access-date=August 20, 2012|magazine=[[The Quietus]]}}</ref> This in turn inspired him to repair his musical and personal friendship with Grasshopper.<ref name="Cameron" /><ref name="Turner" />


===Breakthrough albums: ''Deserter's Songs'' and ''All is Dream'' (1998–2001)===
===Breakthrough albums: ''Deserter's Songs'' and ''All is Dream'' (1998–2001)===
Mercury Rev relocated to Donahue's birthplace of [[Kingston, New York]],<ref name="sisario">{{cite news |last1=Sisario |first1=Ben |title=Just Your Standard Rock Band: Guitar, Drums and Electroencephalograph |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/arts/music/10merc.html |access-date=23 July 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 September 2008}}</ref> and began recording in the [[Catskill Mountains]]. The personnel for the album was a loose core of Jonathan Donahue, Grasshopper and Suzanne Thorpe, joined by Dave Fridmann and by former drummer Jimy Chambers, and augmented by local musicians (including two former members of [[The Band]]: [[Garth Hudson]] and [[Levon Helm]]). The involvement of the latter shifted the band's musical focus closer to roots and acoustic music. At the secondary recording and mixing stage, Donahue, Grasshopper and Fridmann opted not to use their previous method of distorted guitar and electronic overdubs and instead began to use strings, horns and woodwinds, resulting in more of a [[chamber pop]] sound while retaining a psychedelic tinge.<ref name="Halpin" /><ref name=Inglis>{{cite web |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/dave-fridmann-producing-flaming-lips-mercury-rev| title=Dave Fridmann: Producing Flaming Lips & Mercury Rev|first=Sam|last=Inglis|date=September 2000|access-date=August 20, 2012|website=[[Sound on Sound]]}}</ref>
Mercury Rev relocated to Donahue's birthplace of [[Kingston, New York]],<ref name="sisario">{{cite news |last1=Sisario |first1=Ben |title=Just Your Standard Rock Band: Guitar, Drums and Electroencephalograph |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/arts/music/10merc.html |access-date=July 23, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 9, 2008}}</ref> and began recording in the [[Catskill Mountains]]. The personnel for the album was a loose core of Jonathan Donahue, Grasshopper and Suzanne Thorpe, joined by Dave Fridmann and by former drummer Jimy Chambers, and augmented by local musicians (including two former members of [[The Band]]: [[Garth Hudson]] and [[Levon Helm]]). The involvement of the latter shifted the band's musical focus closer to roots and acoustic music. At the secondary recording and mixing stage, Donahue, Grasshopper and Fridmann opted not to use their previous method of distorted guitar and electronic overdubs and instead began to use strings, horns and woodwinds, resulting in more of a [[chamber pop]] sound while retaining a psychedelic tinge.<ref name="Halpin" /><ref name=Inglis>{{cite web |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/dave-fridmann-producing-flaming-lips-mercury-rev| title=Dave Fridmann: Producing Flaming Lips & Mercury Rev|first=Sam|last=Inglis|date=September 2000|access-date=August 20, 2012|website=[[Sound on Sound]]}}</ref>


The 1998 release of the resulting ''[[Deserter's Songs]]'' album met with acclaim, and made Mercury Rev unexpected pop stars.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jason Ankeny |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/deserters-songs-mw0000043055 |title=Deserter's Songs - Mercury Rev &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref><ref>[http://www.fluffhouse.org.uk/musicreviews/album.php?albumid=615]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521145154/http://www.fluffhouse.org.uk/musicreviews/album.php?albumid=615|date=May 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Nme.Com |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/mercury-rev/203 |title=NME Reviews - Deserter's Songs |website=Nme.com |date=2005-09-12 |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19842/Mercury_Rev_Deserters_Songs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021163144/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19842/Mercury_Rev_Deserters_Songs|date=October 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sinclair |first=Tom |url=https://ew.com/article/1998/09/25/deserters-songs/ |title=Deserter's Songs |website=EW.com |date=1998-09-25 |access-date=2015-12-04 |archive-date=2014-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216222207/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,284989,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], ''[[NME]]'' magazine made ''Deserter's Songs'' their [[NME album of the year|Album of the Year]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmeindex.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907194846/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmeindex.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |title=Rocklist.net...NME Lists Menu Page |website=Rocklistmusic.co.uk |date=1992-05-09 |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref> Donahue's earnest, high-pitched vocals and concentration on relatively concise, melodic songs gave the band's material an entirely new feel and much increased popularity (''Deserter's Songs'' spawned three UK Top 40 singles: "[[Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp]]", "Opus 40" and "[[Goddess on a Hiway|Goddess On A Hiway]]").
The 1998 release of the resulting ''[[Deserter's Songs]]'' album met with acclaim, and made Mercury Rev unexpected pop stars.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jason Ankeny |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/deserters-songs-mw0000043055 |title=Deserter's Songs - Mercury Rev &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.fluffhouse.org.uk/musicreviews/album.php?albumid=615]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521145154/http://www.fluffhouse.org.uk/musicreviews/album.php?albumid=615|date=May 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Nme.Com |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/mercury-rev/203 |title=NME Reviews - Deserter's Songs |website=Nme.com |date=September 12, 2005 |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19842/Mercury_Rev_Deserters_Songs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021163144/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19842/Mercury_Rev_Deserters_Songs|date=October 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sinclair |first=Tom |url=https://ew.com/article/1998/09/25/deserters-songs/ |title=Deserter's Songs |website=EW.com |date=September 25, 1998 |access-date=December 4, 2015 |archive-date=December 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216222207/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,284989,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], ''[[NME]]'' magazine made ''Deserter's Songs'' their [[NME album of the year|Album of the Year]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmeindex.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907194846/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmeindex.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |title=Rocklist.net...NME Lists Menu Page |website=Rocklistmusic.co.uk |date=May 9, 1992 |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref> Donahue's earnest, high-pitched vocals and concentration on relatively concise, melodic songs gave the band's material an entirely new feel and much increased popularity (''Deserter's Songs'' spawned three UK Top 40 singles: "[[Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp]]", "Opus 40" and "[[Goddess on a Hiway|Goddess On A Hiway]]").
   
   
Both Suzanne Thorpe and Jimy Chambers left Mercury Rev following the recording of the album, with the tours promoting ''Deserter's Songs'' featuring the return of the Russo brothers and Adam Snyder (although all three would depart the live band during 2000). Jeff Mercel, who'd played on ''[[Deserter's Songs]]'', also joined as touring drummer, and would soon become a full band member.<ref name="revufaq" /> Although Thorpe would return as a guest player for ''All is Dream'',<ref name="revufaq" /> she would subsequently concentrate on academic research and emerge as a Deep Listening instructor, university lecturer and electro-acoustic improviser, as well as becoming part of "pirate-punk" band The Wounded Knees.<ref>[https://www.suzannethorpe.com/the-wounded-knees Wounded Knees page] on Suzanne Thorpe homepage</ref> Thorpe has also returned for occasional band revisitations of the Harmony Rockets project, including one at the 2009 [[All Tomorrow's Parties (festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties]] festival in England.<ref name="revshownotes" /><ref>[https://www.suzannethorpe.com/bio Biography] on Suzanne Thorpe homepage</ref><ref>[https://www.suzannethorpe.com/mercury-rev Mercury Rev page] on Suzanne Thorpe homepage</ref> Chambers would later form the band Odiorne.<ref name="revufaq" />
Both Suzanne Thorpe and Jimy Chambers left Mercury Rev following the recording of the album, with the tours promoting ''Deserter's Songs'' featuring the return of the Russo brothers and Adam Snyder (although all three would depart the live band during 2000). Jeff Mercel, who'd played on ''[[Deserter's Songs]]'', also joined as touring drummer, and would soon become a full band member.<ref name="revufaq" /> Although Thorpe would return as a guest player for ''All is Dream'',<ref name="revufaq" /> she would subsequently concentrate on academic research and emerge as a Deep Listening instructor, university lecturer and electro-acoustic improviser, as well as becoming part of "pirate-punk" band The Wounded Knees.<ref>[https://www.suzannethorpe.com/the-wounded-knees Wounded Knees page] on Suzanne Thorpe homepage</ref> Thorpe has also returned for occasional band revisitations of the Harmony Rockets project, including one at the 2009 [[All Tomorrow's Parties (festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties]] festival in England.<ref name="revshownotes" /><ref>[https://www.suzannethorpe.com/bio Biography] on Suzanne Thorpe homepage</ref><ref>[https://www.suzannethorpe.com/mercury-rev Mercury Rev page] on Suzanne Thorpe homepage</ref> Chambers would later form the band Odiorne.<ref name="revufaq" />


By 2001, the band's nucleus was Grasshopper, Donahue and Mercel, with Fridmann remaining as co-producer and studio bass player. The ''[[All Is Dream]]'' album was issued in 2001 and became the band's highest-charting album in the UK to date (number 11). It included "Little Rhymes", "Nite and Fog" and "The Dark is Rising," which reached number 16 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_1785000/1785755.stm |title=The Official UK Top 40 | work=BBC News | date=January 27, 2002 | access-date=May 12, 2010}}</ref> David Bowie producer [[Tony Visconti]] arranged strings and provided [[Mellotron]] parts for the album, which also featured contributions from Jason and Justin Russo. However, the Russo brothers did not join the band on tour this time, their places being taken by bass player Paul Dillon and by multi-instrumentalist Carlos Anthony Molina on keyboards, augmented by second keyboard player Michael Schirmer.<ref name="revufaq" />
By 2001, the band's nucleus was Grasshopper, Donahue and Mercel, with Fridmann remaining as co-producer and studio bass player. The ''[[All Is Dream]]'' album was issued in 2001 and became the band's highest-charting album in the UK to date (number 11). It included "Little Rhymes", "Nite and Fog" and "The Dark is Rising," which reached number 16 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_1785000/1785755.stm |title=The Official UK Top 40 | work=BBC News | date=January 27, 2002 | access-date=May 12, 2010}}</ref> David Bowie producer [[Tony Visconti]] arranged strings and provided [[Mellotron]] parts for the album, which also featured contributions from Jason and Justin Russo. However, the Russo brothers did not join the band on tour this time, their places being taken by bass player Paul Dillon and by multi-instrumentalist Carlos Anthony Molina on keyboards, augmented by second keyboard player Michael Schirmer.<ref name="revufaq" />


===''The Secret Migration'', ''Snowflake Midnight'' and others (2004–2014)===
===''The Secret Migration'', ''Snowflake Midnight'' and others (2004–2014)===
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Carlos Anthony Molina had become a full Mercury Rev member by the time of Mercury Rev's fifth album, ''[[The Secret Migration]]'', which was released on January 24, 2005, and on which he played both keyboards and bass guitar. The album featured the UK Top 40 single "In A Funny Way" (number 28). The album itself reached number 16 in the [[UK Albums Chart]]. Jeff Mercel moved to keyboards for the subsequent tours, with his place on drums being taken on live dates by Jason Miranda.<ref name="revufaq" />
Carlos Anthony Molina had become a full Mercury Rev member by the time of Mercury Rev's fifth album, ''[[The Secret Migration]]'', which was released on January 24, 2005, and on which he played both keyboards and bass guitar. The album featured the UK Top 40 single "In A Funny Way" (number 28). The album itself reached number 16 in the [[UK Albums Chart]]. Jeff Mercel moved to keyboards for the subsequent tours, with his place on drums being taken on live dates by Jason Miranda.<ref name="revufaq" />


''The Secret Migration'' was followed up in 2006, by a [[compilation album]], ''[[The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes 1991-2006]]'', and the film soundtrack album ''Hello Blackbird''. The band released a pair of albums on September 29, 2008: ''[[Snowflake Midnight]]'', and a free MP3 album of instrumentals, ''Strange Attractor'', following which Jeff Mercel left the band (although he would rejoin them on tour in 2011 to promote the double-disc reissue of ''Deserter's Songs''). Former [[Midlake]] keyboardist Jesse Chandler was recruited to Mercury Rev in 2014.<ref>[https://hauntedgeneration.co.uk/2022/05/06/jesse-chandler-pneumatic-tubes-and-ghost-box-records/ "Jesse Chandler, Pneumatic Tubes and Ghost Box Records"] - article by Bob Fischer in ''Electronic Sound Magazine'' #86, February 2022 (reproduced in ''The Haunted Generation'', 6 May 2022)</ref>
''The Secret Migration'' was followed up in 2006, by a [[compilation album]], ''[[The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes 1991-2006]]'', and the film soundtrack album ''Hello Blackbird''. The band released a pair of albums on September 29, 2008: ''[[Snowflake Midnight]]'', and a free MP3 album of instrumentals, ''Strange Attractor'', following which Jeff Mercel left the band (although he would rejoin them on tour in 2011 to promote the double-disc reissue of ''Deserter's Songs''). Former [[Midlake]] keyboardist Jesse Chandler was recruited to Mercury Rev in 2014.<ref>[https://hauntedgeneration.co.uk/2022/05/06/jesse-chandler-pneumatic-tubes-and-ghost-box-records/ "Jesse Chandler, Pneumatic Tubes and Ghost Box Records"] - article by Bob Fischer in ''Electronic Sound Magazine'' #86, February 2022 (reproduced in ''The Haunted Generation'', May 6, 2022)</ref>


===Recent activity: ''The Light in You'', ''Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited'', ''Born Horses'' (2015–present)===
===Recent activity: ''The Light in You'', ''Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited'', ''Born Horses'' (2015–present)===
Mercury Rev's first studio album in seven years, ''[[The Light in You]]'', was released on October 2, 2015, through [[Bella Union]]. It reached number 39 on the UK albums chart.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-light-in-you-mw0002853351/credits |title=The Light in You - Mercury Rev &#124; Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=2015-10-02 |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref> This was the first Mercury Rev album not to be co-produced by Dave Fridmann. At this point the band were officially a duo of Donahue and Grasshopper, with Molina, Miranda and Chandler still regularly contributing but as part of a set of support musicians.
Mercury Rev's first studio album in seven years, ''[[The Light in You]]'', was released on October 2, 2015, through [[Bella Union]]. It reached number 39 on the UK albums chart.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-light-in-you-mw0002853351/credits |title=The Light in You - Mercury Rev &#124; Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref> This was the first Mercury Rev album not to be co-produced by Dave Fridmann. At this point the band were officially a duo of Donahue and Grasshopper, with Molina, Miranda and Chandler still regularly contributing but as part of a set of support musicians.


Although Molina and Miranda's involvement with the band had ceased by 2016, Chandler had become a full member of Mercury Rev by the time that the band released ''[[Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited]]'' in February 2019. This was a reworking of [[Bobbie Gentry]]'s 1968 album ''[[The Delta Sweete]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mercury Rev {{!}} Bella Union |url=https://bellaunion.com/artists/mercury-rev/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124409/https://bellaunion.com/artists/mercury-rev/ |archive-date=2019-02-09 |access-date=2019-02-08 |website=Bellaunion.com |language=en-US}}</ref> featuring instrumentation by Mercury Rev and a different female guest singer on each song. [[Lucinda Williams]], actress [[Carice van Houten]], [[Beth Orton]] and [[Norah Jones]] were among the vocalists. The album achieved a Top 40 position in the UK chart, peaking at number 32.
Although Molina and Miranda's involvement with the band had ceased by 2016, Chandler had become a full member of Mercury Rev by the time that the band released ''[[Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited]]'' in February 2019. This was a reworking of [[Bobbie Gentry]]'s 1968 album ''[[The Delta Sweete]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mercury Rev {{!}} Bella Union |url=https://bellaunion.com/artists/mercury-rev/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124409/https://bellaunion.com/artists/mercury-rev/ |archive-date=February 9, 2019 |access-date=February 8, 2019 |website=Bellaunion.com |language=en-US}}</ref> featuring instrumentation by Mercury Rev and a different female guest singer on each song. [[Lucinda Williams]], actress [[Carice van Houten]], [[Beth Orton]] and [[Norah Jones]] were among the vocalists. The album achieved a Top 40 position in the UK chart, peaking at number 32.


2021 saw further changes to the Mercury Rev line-up, with second keyboard player Marion Genser joining the band as a full-fledged member.
2021 saw further changes to the Mercury Rev line-up, with keyboard player Marion Genser joining the band as a full-fledged member.


On June 4, 2024, Mercury Rev announced their latest studio album, ''[[Born Horses]]'', which was released on September 6, 2024. The first single from the album, “Patterns,” was also released on the day of the announcement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Corcoran |first=Nina |date=2024-06-04 |title=Mercury Rev Announce New Album Born Horses, Share Video for New Song "Patterns" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/mercury-rev-announce-new-album-born-horses-share-video-for-new-song-patterns-watch/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mongredien |first=Phil |date=2024-09-06 |title=Mercury Rev: Born Horses review – a lush and serene return |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/sep/06/mercury-rev-born-horses-review-a-lush-and-serene-return |access-date=2024-09-30 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> The band's line-up changed again that year, with Joe Magistro taking over on drums, and guitarist/flugelhorn player J.B. Meijers (who'd already made some band contributions in 2018) joining.
On June 4, 2024, Mercury Rev announced their latest studio album, ''[[Born Horses]]'', which was released on September 6, 2024. The first single from the album, "Patterns," was also released on the day of the announcement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Corcoran |first=Nina |date=June 4, 2024 |title=Mercury Rev Announce New Album Born Horses, Share Video for New Song "Patterns" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/mercury-rev-announce-new-album-born-horses-share-video-for-new-song-patterns-watch/ |access-date=June 5, 2024 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mongredien |first=Phil |date=September 6, 2024 |title=Mercury Rev: Born Horses review – a lush and serene return |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/sep/06/mercury-rev-born-horses-review-a-lush-and-serene-return |access-date=September 30, 2024 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> The band's line-up changed again that year, with Joe Magistro taking over on drums, and guitarist/flugelhorn player J.B. Meijers (who'd already made some band contributions in 2018) joining.


== Musical style ==
== Musical style ==
Heather Phares of [[AllMusic]] explained that stylistically, Mercury Rev "evolved from [[avant-pop]] pranksters into purveyors of rootsy, majestic [[Psychedelic pop|psych-pop]]," describing their style as an amalgamation of [[shoegaze]], [[noise pop]], [[Psychedelic music|psychedelic]], and [[experimental music]]. She noted that on the band's third album ''[[See You on the Other Side (Mercury Rev album)|See You on the Other Side]]'', it "added adventurous [[free jazz]] excursions and [[lullaby]]-like [[Melody|melodies]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mercury Rev Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mercury-rev-mn0000408696 |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>
Heather Phares of [[AllMusic]] explained that stylistically, Mercury Rev "evolved from [[avant-pop]] pranksters into purveyors of rootsy, majestic [[Psychedelic pop|psych-pop]]," describing their style as an amalgamation of [[shoegaze]], [[noise pop]], [[Psychedelic music|psychedelic]], and [[experimental music]]. She noted that on the band's third album ''[[See You on the Other Side (Mercury Rev album)|See You on the Other Side]]'', it "added adventurous [[free jazz]] excursions and [[lullaby]]-like [[Melody|melodies]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mercury Rev Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mercury-rev-mn0000408696 |access-date=June 23, 2025 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>


==Band members==
==Band members==
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* [[Grasshopper (musician)|Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak]] – guitar, keyboards, clarinet, vocals, Tettix Wave Accumulator<ref>The Tettix Wave Accumulator is a self-made electronic instrument described by Mackowiak as "basically a huge bank of oscillators, high and low pass filters, and wave shape manipulators" which can be used to manipulate sound from any source and record output to discs. They have used the instrument occasionally for recordings, but it is too large and cumbersome for touring.[https://cokemachineglow.com/features/interview-mercuryrev-2009/]</ref> {{small|(1989–present)}}
* [[Grasshopper (musician)|Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak]] – guitar, keyboards, clarinet, vocals, Tettix Wave Accumulator<ref>The Tettix Wave Accumulator is a self-made electronic instrument described by Mackowiak as "basically a huge bank of oscillators, high and low pass filters, and wave shape manipulators" which can be used to manipulate sound from any source and record output to discs. They have used the instrument occasionally for recordings, but it is too large and cumbersome for touring.[https://cokemachineglow.com/features/interview-mercuryrev-2009/]</ref> {{small|(1989–present)}}
* Marion Genser – keyboards, harmonium, synths {{small|(2021–present)}}
* Marion Genser – keyboards, harmonium, synths {{small|(2021–present)}}
* Jesse Chandler – keyboards, sax, flute {{small|(2014–present)}}
* Jesse Chandler – keyboards, sax, flute {{small|(2019–present; 2014-2019 touring)}}
 
===Current touring musicians===
===Current touring musicians===
* Chris Heitzman – bass {{small|(2021–present)}}
* Chris Heitzman – bass {{small|(2021–present)}}
* J.B. Meijers – guitar, flugelhorn {{small|(2018; 2024–present)}}
* J.B. Meijers – guitar, flugelhorn {{small|(2018; 2024–present)}}
* Joe Magistro – drums {{small|(2024–present)}}
* Joe Magistro – drums {{small|(2024–present)}}
===Former members===
===Former members===
* David Baker – vocals {{small|(1989–1993)}}
* David Baker – vocals {{small|(1989–1993)}}
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! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Top Heatseekers|US<br />Heat]]<br /><ref name="Billboard heat">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/mercury-rev/ |title=Mercury Rev Chart History|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=September 11, 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Top Heatseekers|US<br />Heat]]<br /><ref name="Billboard heat">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/mercury-rev/ |title=Mercury Rev Chart History|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=September 11, 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[ARIA Charts|AUS]]<br /><ref name="australian">Peaks in Australia:
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[ARIA Charts|AUS]]<br /><ref name="australian">Peaks in Australia:
* ''All Is Dream'': {{cite web|url=http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev|title= Discography Mercury Rev|website=Australian-Charts.com|access-date=2011-12-26}}
* ''All Is Dream'': {{cite web|url=http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev|title= Discography Mercury Rev|website=Australian-Charts.com|access-date=December 26, 2011}}
* ''Deserter's Songs'' and ''The Secret Migration'': {{cite Ryan|page=185}}</ref>
* ''Deserter's Songs'' and ''The Secret Migration'': {{cite Ryan|page=185}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Ultratop|BEL<br />(FL)]]<br /><ref name="Belgium Fl">{{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev#charts|title= Discography Mercury Rev|website=Ultratop NL|access-date=15 September 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Ultratop|BEL<br />(FL)]]<br /><ref name="Belgium Fl">{{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev#charts|title= Discography Mercury Rev|website=Ultratop NL|access-date=September 15, 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Ultratop|BEL<br />(WA)]]<br /><ref name="Belgium Wa">{{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/fr/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev#charts|title= Discography Mercury Rev|website=Ultratop WA|access-date=11 September 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Ultratop|BEL<br />(WA)]]<br /><ref name="Belgium Wa">{{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/fr/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev#charts|title= Discography Mercury Rev|website=Ultratop WA|access-date=September 11, 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|FRA]]<br/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev |title=Discographie Mercury Rev |website=Lescharts|access-date=11 September 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|FRA]]<br/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev |title=Discographie Mercury Rev |website=Lescharts|access-date=September 11, 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[VG-lista|NOR]]<br/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://norwegiancharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev |title=Discography Mercury Rev |website=norwegiancharts.com |access-date=26 December 2011}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[VG-lista|NOR]]<br/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://norwegiancharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev |title=Discography Mercury Rev |website=norwegiancharts.com |access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Scottish Albums Chart|SCO]]<br><ref name="UK">{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/23821/mercury-rev/|title=Mercury Rev |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=14 September 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Scottish Albums Chart|SCO]]<br><ref name="UK">{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/23821/mercury-rev/|title=Mercury Rev |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=September 14, 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Sverigetopplistan|SWE]]<br /><ref name="swedish">{{cite web|url=http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev|title= Discography Mercury Rev|website=SwedishCharts.com|access-date=2011-12-26}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[Sverigetopplistan|SWE]]<br /><ref name="swedish">{{cite web|url=http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mercury+Rev|title= Discography Mercury Rev|website=SwedishCharts.com|access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[UK Albums Chart|UK]]<br/><ref name="UK"/><ref name="UKZ">{{cite web|url=https://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_M.HTM|title= Zobbel Mercury Rev|website=Zobbel|access-date= 11 September 2024}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| [[UK Albums Chart|UK]]<br/><ref name="UK"/><ref name="UKZ">{{cite web|url=https://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_M.HTM|title= Zobbel Mercury Rev|website=Zobbel|access-date= September 11, 2024}}</ref>
|-
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[Yerself Is Steam]]''
! scope="row"| ''[[Yerself Is Steam]]''
Line 186: Line 190:
| — || 85 || — || — || 36 || 15 || 32 || 38 || 27  
| — || 85 || — || — || 36 || 15 || 32 || 38 || 27  
|
|
*US: 49,000<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8xEEAAAAMBAJ&q=mercury+rev+album+sales&pg=PA18|title=Mercury Rev Creates An Upbeat, Mythic World On V2's 'All Is Dream'|magazine=Billboard|first=Todd|last=Martens|date=1 September 2001|access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref>
*US: 49,000<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8xEEAAAAMBAJ&q=mercury+rev+album+sales&pg=PA18|title=Mercury Rev Creates An Upbeat, Mythic World On V2's 'All Is Dream'|magazine=Billboard|first=Todd|last=Martens|date=September 1, 2001|access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref>
*UK: 100,000 <ref name="BPI"/>
*UK: 100,000 <ref name="BPI"/>
|
|
* [[British Phonographic Industry|BPI]]: Gold<ref name="BPI">"[http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx Certified Awards Search]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115055129/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx |date=2013-01-15 }}". [[British Phonographic Industry]]. Retrieved on 2011-12-26. User needs to enter "Mercury Rev" in the "Search" field and "Artist" in the "Search by" field, and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.</ref>
* [[British Phonographic Industry|BPI]]: Gold<ref name="BPI">"[http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx Certified Awards Search]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115055129/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx |date=2013-01-15 }}". [[British Phonographic Industry]]. Retrieved on December 26, 2011. User needs to enter "Mercury Rev" in the "Search" field and "Artist" in the "Search by" field, and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.</ref>
|-
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[All Is Dream]]''
! scope="row"| ''[[All Is Dream]]''
Line 293: Line 297:
|
|
*Released: 1992
*Released: 1992
*Labels: Jungle Records
*Labels: Mint Films
*Format: download, streaming
*Format: CD, LP, cassette
|-
!scope="row"|''Paralysed Mind of the Archangel Void'' </br>(as Harmony Rockets)
|
*Released: 1995
*Labels: Big Cat
*Format: CD, LP
|-
|-
!scope="row"|''Strange Attractor''
!scope="row"|''Strange Attractor''
Line 512: Line 522:
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —{{efn|group=upper-alpha|"Senses on Fire" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 68 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/mercury-rev-senses-on-fire/ |title=Senses on Fire - Mercury Rev - Official Charts |work=Official Charts Company |access-date=11 September 2024}}</ref>}}
| —{{efn|group=upper-alpha|"Senses on Fire" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 68 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/mercury-rev-senses-on-fire/ |title=Senses on Fire - Mercury Rev - Official Charts |work=Official Charts Company |access-date=September 11, 2024}}</ref>}}
| —
| —
| rowspan="2"| ''Snowflake Midnight''
| rowspan="2"| ''Snowflake Midnight''
Line 540: Line 550:
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —{{efn|group=upper-alpha|"Rainy Day Record" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 60 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/mercury-rev-rainy-day-record/ |title=Rainy Day Record - Mercury Rev - Official Charts |work=Official Charts Company |access-date=11 September 2024}}</ref>}}
| —{{efn|group=upper-alpha|"Rainy Day Record" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 60 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/mercury-rev-rainy-day-record/ |title=Rainy Day Record - Mercury Rev - Official Charts |work=Official Charts Company |access-date=September 11, 2024}}</ref>}}
| —
| —
|-
|-

Latest revision as of 09:19, 18 November 2025

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherTemplate:Main otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other

Mercury Rev is an American rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York,[1] with Jonathan Donahue (vocals and guitar) and Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak (guitar/clarinet/other instruments) as the only constant members. The band's music has incorporated indie rock, psychedelic rock and American roots, amongst other forms. Mercury Rev have been closely associated with The Flaming Lips,[2] and the two bands have shared historical ties.

History

Formation (1989–1990)

Mercury Rev was formed in 1989 by students at the University at Buffalo, partially inspired by the drone music of composer/media studies professor Tony Conrad (then working as a teacher at the university, and a strong artistic influence on co-founder Grasshopper).[3] The line-up gradually coalesced around Donahue, Grasshopper, vocalist/keyboard player David Baker and flute/French horn player Suzanne Thorpe; subsequent additions were bass guitarist/in-house producer Dave Fridmann (a music production student at SUNY Fredonia, who began by recording the band and subsequently added enough bass guitar and sonic effect parts to make himself a full band member), and a late addition in the form of drummer Jimy Chambers (who joined towards the end of initial recording sessions to "effectively serve as the frame around Mercury Rev's musical splatter").[4]

The band was initially formed to score its members' student films,[5] and had a loose playing and recording existence. The band's initial music was a blend of experimental, psychedelic rock, drone and noise rock. David Baker recalls "we were in Buffalo, sitting there thinking, there's no hope of us being a band, we're not going to be Guns N' Roses. What we did wasn't considered real, because it wasn't being covered by Spin or Rolling Stone, so we could just be whatever we wanted to be. We'd take the microphone and record pots and pans or guitar and make our own little world. I mean, we knew the context, we knew who Bowie was, we knew who all the bands were, but we didn't put them with us. We were just making music. It was, 'Us? Are we in a band?' Well, none of us live in the same town, we just meet in the studio and have a great time together doing stuff."[6]

At this early stage, several members also had other musical interests which prevented consistent Mercury Rev activity. Donahue worked as a gig promoter for other bands' concerts in Buffalo, which brought him into contact with The Flaming Lips in 1989: he then toured with them as guitar technician before formally joining as lead guitarist in time to play on their 1990 album In a Priest Driven Ambulance.

The David Baker years: Yerself is Steam and Boces (1991–1993)

Mercury Rev's debut album was 1991's Yerself is Steam. Once referred to as "soundtracks to actual movies, composed by a band that didn't really exist," it originated as the collective's attempts to devise and perform musical scores for student films showing in local galleries, or for existing nature documentaries which they'd watch on television and jam to.[4] It was followed by the "Car Wash Hair" single, a more straightforward song typifying the band's early merging of psychedelic rock and noise rock. During this year, the band had begun to solidify and concentrate on more sustained effort. Yerself is Steam had been completed during Donahue's breaks from Flaming Lips activity in tour and in Oklahoma: following creative disagreements with the band's frontman Wayne Coyne, Donahue left The Flaming Lips in mid-1991, shortly after recording the Hit to Death in the Future Head album. This enabled him to return to Buffalo and concentrate full-time on Mercury Rev. Fridmann, meanwhile, had produced the band's early recordings as part of his university coursework, meaning that Mercury Rev could access and use the SUNY Fredonia studios in off-hours and at cheap rates.[4]

As they began to play live (and across a greater spread of venues and events), the band began to make a name for themselves as creators of powerfully experimental, often chaotic psychedelic music, with Pitchfork later recalling "in their formative years, Mercury Rev really did sound like a careening bus headed towards a fiery crash — one where half the people on board were frantically fighting each other for control of the wheel, and the other half were in the back obliviously singing nursery rhymes as the whole bucket of bolts went up in flames... [It was] less a melding of disparate sounds than a battle royale of oppositional ideologies: order and anarchy, ecstasy and terror, purity and perversion."[4]

Although Dave Fridmann remained the band's bass player, co-producer and co-composer in the studio, he often had to step back from his role as live bass player due to increasing demands on his time as a record producer.[7] Bassist John DeVries substituted for Fridmann at an increasing number of live shows, including an Ireland-and-England tour in the autumn of 1992, with Gerald Menke taking over live bass duties by 1993.[8][9]

Despite considerable critical acclaim,[10][11][12] Mercury Rev's early releases gave them little more than cult popularity,[2] although thanks to early British press interest they secured a prestigious slot at the Reading Festival for their third-ever gig,[4] and later appeared on the smaller second stage at some 1993 Lollapalooza stops.

The band's second record, Boces, was recorded during 1992 and 1993, with the band's collective creative approach in full flow. David Baker later recalled "[Jimy Chambers] was really into a lot of '60s music; Dave Fridmann, his background was more jazz. He used to put Steely Dan on a lot of the time. Suzanne was of the mind set of trying to conquer all these guitars with her flute. I thought people should be able to put their thing into the mix because it is better to have everything in... The drummer was writing a song, the bass player was writing a song and it would get blown up by someone else. Jonathan was a major song writer and I did a lot but everybody got to contribute... There were pre-ideas and songs brought in but I don't think anybody would have been allowed to tell people what to do. They knew their song was going to get blown up. Maybe you don't bring in a song that you weren't ready for somebody to blow up."[13]

Later in 1993, the band embarked on a tour to support the release of Boces, including some Lollapalooza shows during the summer. At the Lollopalooza gig at Greenwood Village, Colorado on June 26, the band were forced off the stage for being too loud and "out of control" following an objection by the Mayor of Denver.[4][14]

David Baker parted company with Mercury Rev after the Boces tour, citing musical and personal disputes.[6]

Baker remained on good terms with the band,[6] and would later record albums as Shady and Variety Lights. With his departure, the thematically darker and musically experimental features of Mercury Rev began to disappear, with the music gradually shifting over time towards a melodic, ornate sound.[15]

Transitional period: See You on the Other Side (1995–1997)

The band's first post-Baker album, See You on the Other Side (1995) contained a variety of styles, including a sprawling psychedelic opening track and noise rock numbers like "Young Man's Stride" (for which a music video was released), but also more melodic songs, such as "Sudden Ray of Hope". By this time the live band included organist Adam Snyder and brothers Jason and Justin Russo of psychedelic rock band Hopewell (as bassist and keyboardist respectively).[9]

That year, the group also recorded and released the album, Paralyzed Mind Of The Archangel Void, under the moniker "Harmony Rockets". The album featured a single forty minute track of mostly instrumental psychedelic improvised music. It was rated four and half stars, out of five, by AllMusic. (Fourteen years later, in 2009, the group would revisit it for performance in the Don't Look Back concert series.)

See You on the Other Side failed to sell well, a situation which helped to trigger a destructive period for the band during which they fell into debt, came into conflict with their record label, lost their manager and lawyers, and parted company with drummer Jimy Chambers.[16][17] Donahue and Grasshopper, in particular, were failing to communicate with each other and struggling with their individual drug and relationship problems.[16][17]

While Grasshopper retreated to a Jesuit guest house in upstate New York, Donahue began to listen to records of children's music and to write simple melodies on piano (in contrast to the band's former psychedelic/electric compositional approach.[18] At the same time, he was invited to guest on a Chemical Brothers track called "The Private Psychedelic Reel".[19] This in turn inspired him to repair his musical and personal friendship with Grasshopper.[17][19]

Breakthrough albums: Deserter's Songs and All is Dream (1998–2001)

Mercury Rev relocated to Donahue's birthplace of Kingston, New York,[5] and began recording in the Catskill Mountains. The personnel for the album was a loose core of Jonathan Donahue, Grasshopper and Suzanne Thorpe, joined by Dave Fridmann and by former drummer Jimy Chambers, and augmented by local musicians (including two former members of The Band: Garth Hudson and Levon Helm). The involvement of the latter shifted the band's musical focus closer to roots and acoustic music. At the secondary recording and mixing stage, Donahue, Grasshopper and Fridmann opted not to use their previous method of distorted guitar and electronic overdubs and instead began to use strings, horns and woodwinds, resulting in more of a chamber pop sound while retaining a psychedelic tinge.[16][20]

The 1998 release of the resulting Deserter's Songs album met with acclaim, and made Mercury Rev unexpected pop stars.[21][22][23][24][25] In the UK, NME magazine made Deserter's Songs their Album of the Year.[26] Donahue's earnest, high-pitched vocals and concentration on relatively concise, melodic songs gave the band's material an entirely new feel and much increased popularity (Deserter's Songs spawned three UK Top 40 singles: "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp", "Opus 40" and "Goddess On A Hiway").

Both Suzanne Thorpe and Jimy Chambers left Mercury Rev following the recording of the album, with the tours promoting Deserter's Songs featuring the return of the Russo brothers and Adam Snyder (although all three would depart the live band during 2000). Jeff Mercel, who'd played on Deserter's Songs, also joined as touring drummer, and would soon become a full band member.[9] Although Thorpe would return as a guest player for All is Dream,[9] she would subsequently concentrate on academic research and emerge as a Deep Listening instructor, university lecturer and electro-acoustic improviser, as well as becoming part of "pirate-punk" band The Wounded Knees.[27] Thorpe has also returned for occasional band revisitations of the Harmony Rockets project, including one at the 2009 All Tomorrow's Parties festival in England.[8][28][29] Chambers would later form the band Odiorne.[9]

By 2001, the band's nucleus was Grasshopper, Donahue and Mercel, with Fridmann remaining as co-producer and studio bass player. The All Is Dream album was issued in 2001 and became the band's highest-charting album in the UK to date (number 11). It included "Little Rhymes", "Nite and Fog" and "The Dark is Rising," which reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart.[30] David Bowie producer Tony Visconti arranged strings and provided Mellotron parts for the album, which also featured contributions from Jason and Justin Russo. However, the Russo brothers did not join the band on tour this time, their places being taken by bass player Paul Dillon and by multi-instrumentalist Carlos Anthony Molina on keyboards, augmented by second keyboard player Michael Schirmer.[9]

The Secret Migration, Snowflake Midnight and others (2004–2014)

File:Mercury Rev at Tel Aviv 11.jpg
Film Music Live Improvisation for the short movie The Red Balloon

Carlos Anthony Molina had become a full Mercury Rev member by the time of Mercury Rev's fifth album, The Secret Migration, which was released on January 24, 2005, and on which he played both keyboards and bass guitar. The album featured the UK Top 40 single "In A Funny Way" (number 28). The album itself reached number 16 in the UK Albums Chart. Jeff Mercel moved to keyboards for the subsequent tours, with his place on drums being taken on live dates by Jason Miranda.[9]

The Secret Migration was followed up in 2006, by a compilation album, The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes 1991-2006, and the film soundtrack album Hello Blackbird. The band released a pair of albums on September 29, 2008: Snowflake Midnight, and a free MP3 album of instrumentals, Strange Attractor, following which Jeff Mercel left the band (although he would rejoin them on tour in 2011 to promote the double-disc reissue of Deserter's Songs). Former Midlake keyboardist Jesse Chandler was recruited to Mercury Rev in 2014.[31]

Recent activity: The Light in You, Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited, Born Horses (2015–present)

Mercury Rev's first studio album in seven years, The Light in You, was released on October 2, 2015, through Bella Union. It reached number 39 on the UK albums chart.[32] This was the first Mercury Rev album not to be co-produced by Dave Fridmann. At this point the band were officially a duo of Donahue and Grasshopper, with Molina, Miranda and Chandler still regularly contributing but as part of a set of support musicians.

Although Molina and Miranda's involvement with the band had ceased by 2016, Chandler had become a full member of Mercury Rev by the time that the band released Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited in February 2019. This was a reworking of Bobbie Gentry's 1968 album The Delta Sweete,[33] featuring instrumentation by Mercury Rev and a different female guest singer on each song. Lucinda Williams, actress Carice van Houten, Beth Orton and Norah Jones were among the vocalists. The album achieved a Top 40 position in the UK chart, peaking at number 32.

2021 saw further changes to the Mercury Rev line-up, with keyboard player Marion Genser joining the band as a full-fledged member.

On June 4, 2024, Mercury Rev announced their latest studio album, Born Horses, which was released on September 6, 2024. The first single from the album, "Patterns," was also released on the day of the announcement.[34][35] The band's line-up changed again that year, with Joe Magistro taking over on drums, and guitarist/flugelhorn player J.B. Meijers (who'd already made some band contributions in 2018) joining.

Musical style

Heather Phares of AllMusic explained that stylistically, Mercury Rev "evolved from avant-pop pranksters into purveyors of rootsy, majestic psych-pop," describing their style as an amalgamation of shoegaze, noise pop, psychedelic, and experimental music. She noted that on the band's third album See You on the Other Side, it "added adventurous free jazz excursions and lullaby-like melodies."[36]

Band members

Current members

  • Jonathan Donahue – vocals, guitar (1989–present)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak – guitar, keyboards, clarinet, vocals, Tettix Wave Accumulator[37] (1989–present)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Marion Genser – keyboards, harmonium, synths (2021–present)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jesse Chandler – keyboards, sax, flute (2019–present; 2014-2019 touring)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Current touring musicians

  • Chris Heitzman – bass (2021–present)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • J.B. Meijers – guitar, flugelhorn (2018; 2024–present)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Joe Magistro – drums (2024–present)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Former members

  • David Baker – vocals (1989–1993)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jimy Chambers – drums (1989–1999)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Dave Fridmann – bass (1989–2001; studio only after 1993)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., producer (1989–2008)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jeff Mercel – drums, piano (1998–2008; 2011 tour)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Adam Snyder – keyboards (1995–2000)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Suzanne Thorpe – flute (1989–1999)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Former touring musicians

  • John DeVries – bass (1993)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Gerald Menke – bass (1993)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Justin Russo – keyboards (1998–2015)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jason Russo – bass (1994–2001)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Michael Schirmer – keyboards (2001–2002)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Paul Dillon – bass (2001–2002)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Carlos Anthony Molina – keyboards (2001–2002)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., bass (2004–2016)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jason Miranda – drums (2005–2016)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Simon Raymonde
  • Don McGreevy – drums (2022)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected details and peak chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications
US
Heat
[38] 		AUS
[39] 		BEL
(FL)
[40] 		BEL
(WA)
[41] 		FRA
[42] 		NOR
[43] 		SCO
[44] 		SWE
[45] 		UK
[44][46]
Yerself Is Steam — — — — — — — — 200
Boces
  • Released: June 1, 1993
  • Label: Beggars Banquet
  • Format: cassette, CD, digital download, LP, streaming
 — — — — — — — — 43
See You on the Other Side
  • Released: September 19, 1995
  • Label: Beggars Banquet
  • Format: cassette, CD, digital download, LP, streaming
 — — — — — — — — 108
Deserter's Songs
  • Released: September 29, 1998
  • Label: V2
  • Format: cassette, CD, digital download, LP, streaming
 — 85 — — 36 15 32 38 27
All Is Dream
  • Released: September 11, 2001
  • Label: V2
  • Format: cassette, CD, digital download, LP, streaming
 17 36 46 — 27 4 10 55 11
The Secret Migration
  • Released: January 24, 2005
  • Label: V2
  • Format: cassette, CD, digital download, LP, streaming
 — 66 27 48 30 27 15 — 16
Snowflake Midnight
  • Released: September 29, 2008
  • Label: V2/Yep Roc
  • Format: CD, digital download, LP, streaming
 14 — 48 94 150 — 56 — 52
The Light in You
  • Released: October 2, 2015
  • Label: Bella Union
  • Format: CD, digital download, LP, streaming
 — — 58 69 66 — 34 — 39
Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited
  • Released: February 4, 2019
  • Label: Bella Union
  • Format: CD, digital download, LP, streaming
 2 — 51 90 184 — 9 — 32
Born Horses
  • Released: September 6, 2024
  • Label: Bella Union
  • Format: CD, digital download, LP, streaming
 — — 200 — — — 13 — 44

Compilations

List of albums, with selected details and peak chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[46]
The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes 1991-2006 176

Soundtracks

List of albums, with selected details and peak chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
Sound.
[44]
Hello Blackbird (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 41

Other commercial releases

List of commercial releases, with selected chart positions
Title Release details
Lego My Ego
  • Released: 1992
  • Labels: Mint Films
  • Format: CD, LP, cassette
Paralysed Mind of the Archangel Void
(as Harmony Rockets)
  • Released: 1995
  • Labels: Big Cat
  • Format: CD, LP
Strange Attractor
  • Released: September 30, 2008
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming
Inner Autumn Outer Space
  • Released: December 4, 2012
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming

Live albums

List of commercial releases, with selected chart positions
Title Release details
The Complete Peel Sessions
  • Released: January 1, 2009
  • Labels: Universal
  • Format: download, CD, streaming
Beyond The Swirling Clouds - An Evening At Barrowland Ballroom
  • Released: January 5, 2011
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming
Live in Brixton '92
  • Released: December 4, 2012
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming
Live SXSW 1999
  • Released: March 1, 2016
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming
Whisky a Go-Go '95
  • Released: March 1, 2016
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming
Madrid Live '95
  • Released: March 1, 2016
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming
Phoenix Festival '93
  • Released: March 3, 2017
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming
Malaga '07
  • Released: March 3, 2017
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming
Istanbul 2011
  • Released: March 3, 2017
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming
Buffalo '95
  • Released: March 3, 2017
  • Labels: Excelsior Melodies
  • Format: download, streaming

Other appearances

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
BEL
(FL)
[40] 		BEL
(WA)
[41] 		UK
[44] 		UK
Indie
[44]
"Car Wash Hair" 1991 — — — — Yerself Is Steam
"If You Want Me to Stay" 1992 — — — —
"Chasing a Bee" — — — —
"The Hum Is Coming from Her" 1993 — — — — Template:N/A
"Bronx Cheer" — — — — Boces
"Something for Joey" — — — —
"Everlasting Arm/Dead Man" 1994 — — 91 — See You on the Other Side
"Goddess on a Hiway" 1998 —Template:Efn — 26 3 Deserter's Songs
"Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" — — 26 7
"Opus 40" 1999 — — 31 6
"Holes" — — — —
"Nite and Fog" 2001 — — 47 7 All Is Dream
"The Dark is Rising" 2002 — — 16 2
"Little Rhymes" — — 51 7
"In a Funny Way" 2005 — — 28 7 The Secret Migration
"Across Yer Ocean" — — 54 8
"Senses on Fire" 2008 — — —Template:Efn — Snowflake Midnight
"Butterfly's Wing" — — — —
"The Queen of Swans" 2015 — — — — The Light in You
"Are You Ready?" — — — —
"Rainy Day Record" 2016 — — —Template:Efn —
"Sermon" (featuring Margo Pierce)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 2018 — — — — Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited
"Big Boss Man" (featuring Hope Sandoval)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". — — — —
"Okolona River Bottom Band" (featuring Norah Jones)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 2019 —Template:Efn —Template:Efn — —
"Tobacco Road" (featuring Susanne Sundfør)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"./"Jesseye' Lisabeth" (featuring Phoebe Bridgers)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". — — — —
"Louisiana Man" (featuring Erika Wennerstrom)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[49] — — — — Template:N/A
"Patterns" 2024 — — — — Born Horses
"Ancient Love" — — — —
"A Bird of No Address" — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Other contributions

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist-ua

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Sister project

Template:Mercury Rev Template:Authority control

  1. ↑ [1] Template:Webarchive
  2. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Yerself is Steam - Mercury Rev - 1991 - retrospective review by Stuart Berman in Pitchfork, February 11, 2024
  5. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ a b c "From Mercury Rev to Variety Lights: David Baker Interviewed" - interview with David Baker by Stuart Huggett in The Quietus, June 12, 2013
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ a b "random notes of mercury rev's life on the road..." on Mercury Rev Gigography
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ [2] Template:Webarchive
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ "A Circus of Colour & Light: Mercury Rev's Boces 25 Years On" - article/interview by Ben Cardew in The Quietus, October 18, 2013
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ a b Template:Cite magazine
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ [3] Template:Webarchive
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ [4] Template:Webarchive
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Wounded Knees page on Suzanne Thorpe homepage
  28. ↑ Biography on Suzanne Thorpe homepage
  29. ↑ Mercury Rev page on Suzanne Thorpe homepage
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ "Jesse Chandler, Pneumatic Tubes and Ghost Box Records" - article by Bob Fischer in Electronic Sound Magazine #86, February 2022 (reproduced in The Haunted Generation, May 6, 2022)
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ The Tettix Wave Accumulator is a self-made electronic instrument described by Mackowiak as "basically a huge bank of oscillators, high and low pass filters, and wave shape manipulators" which can be used to manipulate sound from any source and record output to discs. They have used the instrument occasionally for recordings, but it is too large and cumbersome for touring.[5]
  38. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  39. ↑ Peaks in Australia:
    • All Is Dream: Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
    • Deserter's Songs and The Secret Migration: Template:Cite Ryan
  40. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  48. ↑ a b c d "Certified Awards Search Template:Webarchive". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on December 26, 2011. User needs to enter "Mercury Rev" in the "Search" field and "Artist" in the "Search by" field, and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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