Mercurine Demo EP
Reviewed by Blu
Many of you may remember Mera Roberts as the cello player on
Faith and the Muse's Blackout AD Tour. That's where I saw saw
her first.
With Mercurine, Mera doesn't play strings at all (which I admit
I was a bit disappointed in because I do love strings) but takes
the spotlight instead to sing. Her voice shimmers somewhere
between Switchblade Symphony, Kate Bush and Monica Richards
yet doesn't try to duplicate them. There is all at once an innocent
air yet coy, determined strength in her presentation. Their
webpage says when forming this project Mera "envisioned
a new band that would combine elements of New Order, Curve,
My Bloody Valentine and harder-edged electronic influences."
And musically, despite my general dislike for electronic percussion,
it's done so well here that it doesn't bother me at all and
does, to a certain degree, accomplish her goals. The electronics
are used wisely and creatively, careful to avoid the repetitive
traps of synthpop and smart enough to put in bright electronic
pulses in just the right places. If you're going to use a drum
machine, this is a good way to do it. Overall the songs are
lush and textured -- upbeat, danceable and dreamy at the
same time. While it seems to me that there are hints at a Faith
& the Muse's influence in places, particularly on track
one, they manage to bring something fresh and new to the table.
"Will Morning Come" is an obvious hit -- a memorable
melody with a good danceable beat. Mera's sometimes delicate
voice is tempered against distorted guitars and haunting synth
lines. Track 2, "Gone Too Far," starts with a melodic
bass line and almost elfin-like vocals and percussion that becomes
more dominate as the song goes along.
Track 3, "Walking West," is the heaviest electronic-driven
song. There's lots of sparkling synth lines contrasted with
more gritty guitar playing while track 4, "Nameless"
is an instrumental focusing on atmospheric guitars. Dreamy and
vast it calls to mind early U2. It is a gorgeous composition.
And finally track 5 was not listed so I assume its a hidden
track (or a misprint/accident?). There's cello-like bass lines,
synths running counter melody and vocals that are whispered
and echoing. All of the four named songs are available
on their well organized website for free so take a few moments
to check them out. This is definitely the beginning of a wonderful
new music project with a wealth of talent to propel them onward.
— Blu
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