Mercury Rev's Deserter's Songs (1998)
“Bands/Those funny little plans/that never work quite right.”
“Holes”
A wistful gentle ambient string section invites the listener into the avant-pop experience of Deserter’s Songs. A balance of real strings blends itself with electronic keys while being met with a biting higher ringing sound creating the vivid sensation of drifting. Jonathan Donahue takes on a mousy Daniel Johnston/Neil Young-esque voice spouts nonsensical lyrics and yet his short and minimalistic melody writing evokes a sense of vulnerability again similar to Daniel Johnston’s work. The lyrics themselves also have hints of emotional weight that peek through. Out of seeming madness “Holes/Dug by little moles/Angry jealous spies/Got telephones for eyes” emerges a vague emotional metaphor “Come to you as friends/All those endless ends/That can't be tied/Oh, they make me laugh/And always make me cry.” This emotional vagueness assumes the listener’s perspective and lends itself freely to interpretation and ways of seeing. Another lyrical highlight is the final line “Bands/Those funny little plans/that never work quite right.” The song seems lost in an eternal waft and the lyrics reflect this as well. The whole song feels continuous, especially throughout its emotional crescendo built up by an instrumental induction process once the drums pick up. The addition of horns adds some bright cinematic qualities and the theremin floats above everything else creating an otherworldly landscape that is not present in a specific place or time but solely feeling. The song is incredibly full and yet it feels so desolate. This is done by the isolationist unmoving tone of Donahue’s voice juxtaposed against an ever-moving and swelling instrumental that moves separate from him. He is only along for the ride with all that is happening around him. Everything finally settles at the end around in a relieving yet melancholic calm.
“Tonite It Shows”
A carnival-esque whimsical haunting melody rings into “Tonite It Shows.” Almost like Pan luring us into the woods, there is a subtle creep to the song. The fairy tale nature of the song is furthered by birds chirping and sugary bright string movements as well as the addition of a harp. As this story-book sugar plum fairy instrumentation plays out, the lyrics shift from a woodland seduction into lyrics of infatuation grounded in a modern reality: “Into a dream, I took a turn, and promised to return/The way we were, the way we met, the way I lit your cigarette/The way it trailed, into a stream, and lay down between” The track also features some romantic swelter similar to music of the ‘50s and early ‘60s with an uneasy underlying ringing below it.
“Endlessly”
A folksy guitar tune introduces the next song alongside a theremin highlighting the idiosyncratic quality of Mercury Rev. Again the sugared string sections present themselves but this time with what sounds like a soprano vocal line which almost takes on the role of the theremin where it left off. The electric repeating keys offer some type of colorful grounding to what is otherwise an idyllic swept-away track. There is a distinct cinematic dream romance that is present in the lyrics and instrumental due to the harp and chimes. It’s classic and picturesque. There is a muse sense of adoration present and the song is quite synchronous and linear with its devotions outside of the unique usage of the theremin.
“I Collect Coins”
Outside of deliberate lo-fi grain, this track is drenched with the past. Again, romantic and saccharine, Mercury Rev offers a far-off instrumental track that sounds vintage. A sweet instrumental duet rings out from an imaginary radio saturated with fascination and charm.
“Opus 40”
The poppiest vocal line in the album appears staggered against isolated swathing strings before the repeated note keys come into weigh the song before it escapes itself. It builds a suspended light-hearted tension due to the tightness present in the keys and vocals before an almost Beatles’ “Day In The Life” mini crescendo builds for its release. Not only do the vocals release themselves but the keys get a bright solo over the string foundation. Spatially the song is reminiscent of some of the earlier work of The London Suede, floating above the listener rather than sitting from a street view. Mercury Rev also solidifies their affinity for higher cut-through melodies where a whistle takes over where the theremin was present in past tracks. There is also a picked-up solidified groove with a strange eastern exoticism element added in which separates itself from any homogeneity to earlier tracks.
“Hudson Line”
Mercury Rev continues with linear set grooves and stepping away from an orchestra emphasis, treating it as a more underlying feature to the beat and vocals. The song also offers a saxophone and a similarly brassy-toned electric guitar infusing a forward-driven intensity into they’re general groundless sound. The vocal line maintains minimalism with a sweet elementary melody repetition serving as interludes to guitar and key solos. The organ tone applied to the keys adds another vintage aspect as the vibraphone makes a guest appearance infusing some more aged prime qualities. Donahue’s voice also takes on a comforting almost paternal sound, cradling the listener through the episodic rock-steeped track.
“The Happy End (The Drunk Room)”
A droning far-off piano repetition fights against a string section which progressively becomes dissonantly bright. The instruments are a strange duet of cat and mouse before adding ambient eeriness through discordant interruptions between the foundations. Abruptly all elements fade away as the instruments distantly come in and out of each other in a dank hollow soundscape leaving for no resolution and still hanging suspension.
“Goddess on a Hiway”
A hard set groove returns with “Goddess on a Hiway” taking on a rock-infused psychedelic pop sound once more. This track is the weightiest on the album, with a deeper resonating force underneath the melodies. The keys take on a harpsichord harmonica sound adding a new high harmony sound to the album. The entire song is paradoxical in its brightness placed against its tragic mourning of a relationship found within the lyrics. Rather than a pendulous tension or a smooth resolve as seen earlier, this track ends on a classic pop fade furthering it as the most accessible feature on the album.
“The Funny Bird”
Darker neo-new-wave sound meets a smokier space and interjects itself into the later half of the album with a sharp hard hitting snare. Donahue rather than using organic vocal effects seems to warp his voice to sound like it's drowning offering the only distortion before the abrupt heavy anthemic electric guitar rip and crescendo. The song continues in this fashion adding heavier electricity in its rock builds appearing as a serious outlier in the album’s sound placement. It all drops out for only a brief moment before implementing a grim ringing regrounding the song in the beat and going into another heavy break. It then finally releases into a lingering high drone.
“Pick Up If You’re There”
The most ambient track on the album, a soft drone is married occasionally with an organ-sounding melody but it doesn’t quite go anywhere. Once again the album returns to its beginning floating endlessly through the sound space of its design. Toward the end, the theremin ghosts over it before low-fidelity recordings of what sounds like movie dialogue play out uninterrupted.
“Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp”
A baroque upbeat melody marks the beginning of the end on a brighter present-placed note. The sun shines on the listener as they absorb rays of pure psych-pop. The strings once again lay the foundation alongside the electric guitar filling in the space with a beckon to dance. The track fades out halfway through into silence followed by a wonderland-esque discordant score. The strings hold tension as a man’s voice calls out “woah” and one imagines a series of fantastical cartoonish events unfolding with no answers given. The album ends with an abrupt melody in a similar vein and a wink allowing a neat yet not necessarily satisfying close to such a dynamic album