Review by Stan Cierlitsky
Mercvrial's first EP, The Stars, Like Dust was self released on August 9th on a variety of platforms. The band is made up of folks from all over North America, from Baja, Mexico to right here in our backyard in Virginia. And, as you read this review, I want to note that, as of the time of this writing, the track list appears different on different sites, so pay attention to the titles.
The EP is only 5 tracks long, but it touches on a lot of the sounds I really enjoy. The song "Otherworld" sounds a lot like a muddier version of material from The Ocean Blue. Whoever produced this and turned the bass to eleven knows my taste in music. David, the principal songwriter, describes the band’s sound as falling "somewhere between the early-'80s quasi-psychedelic pop of The Rain Parade, The Church" and the noisier bands on Creation Records from that era, like Ride, Adorable, The House of Love, and so on. That sounds about right.
The song "Carnival" starts with a Jesus and Mary Chain dark drumbeat, but eases right into being a very Ride-esque number. It's a decent track. "There's a carnival every Saturday if you know the right way to go. It's the perfect thing for an autumn day with the colors starting to show." These are pretty typical lyrics on the EP. Seems like they really are trying to hit the dream-pop target.
You can also find a cover of The Chills' "Pink Frost". David mentioned in an interview that "Flying Nun purists might not like the result [as] it sounds like a collaboration between Depeche Mode and Sad Lovers & Giants." And, as a Flying Nun purist myself, I have to say he is right. He makes this song sound lighter and fluffier than it should ever sound. As any Chills fan will point out, this song is heavy in terms of subject matter, so I"m not sure it should ever been made to sound lighter like this. I think this track is a miss.
The remaining two tracks on The Stars, Like Dust are decent. "Hsieh Su-Wei" is kind of more of a straightforward, rockier track. There are even samples laid throughout the song. I am a sucker for that kind of thing too. If there is another release in the future, I think I would like to hear more tracks like this one.
More details on Mercvrial via the band's official Facebook page.
♫ The Stars, Like Dust - Mercvrial. Listen @cdbaby: Click to listen at CDBaby