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The Mercury Rev return with new fairy-tale and dreamy pages.
Yes, pages: the CD packaging is a true little book. The cardboard cover featuring a purple and gold fairy-butterfly, the illustrations in the booklet, the very texture of the paper: it really resembles an ancient book of fairy tales.
And pressing the stereo buttons with "The Secret Migration" (V2 Music, 2005) inside is like leafing through the pages of "Fantastic Tales of the Nineteenth Century", a collection curated by Italo Calvino (Arnoldo Mondatori Editore, 1983), which - fortunate coincidence - I'm reading these days. Both the atmospheres of the two works are amazing, and at times, their harmony is too.
For instance, I read the story Autumn Spell, by a German romantic author; and I listen to Secret For A Song, the opening track of the album. In both, a lady of unreal and disturbing charm; and a secret confided with a troubled soul.
Joseph von Eichendorff writes in 1809: "She kissed me on the lips and disappeared into the dark corridors. A gem from her flower sparkled in the movement and at her kiss a terrified delight coiled in my veins. I recalled with terror the dreadful words she whispered to me while leaving".
Today Jonathan Donahue sings: "Dawn brought a wild light back into her tired eyes / like violets / opening her eyelids to the light / ... / I'll take you where the morning stars burns just for you / my dark country bride / I'll tell you a secret / I'll sell you a secret for a song".
From Calvino's introduction: "If in most cases the romantic image creates around itself a space populated by visionary apparitions, there is also the fantastic tale in which the supernatural remains invisible, 'felt' more than 'seen', becoming part of an inner dimension".
Indeed: it is felt, oh yes. The tales of Mercury Rev are 'sonic', full of supernatural sounds: carpets of strings, polished glimmers, Jonathan's ethereal voice, Grasshopper's hallucinated guitars, the touches of producer Dave Fridmann, increasingly mastering these themes (his very touches have recently colored the music of - I only mention two - Sparklehorse and The Flaming Lips) and more in tune with the dream-pop path Mercury Rev have embraced in their recent works.
We are far from the heights of "Deserter's Songs" (1998) and even more from the bizarre psychedelia of their beginnings ("Yerself Is Steam" was from 1991), but it certainly cannot be said that 2005 has started badly in the fairy world of the seven notes. Quite the opposite.
...Ah, that book of tales, read it. You will savor, in the tones of the era, a very modern and exquisite view on the interiority of the individual. And you will regret reaching the word "Finis", the same written at the bottom of the booklet of "The Secret Migration".
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Secret for a Song (04:01)
Dawn brought a wild light, back into her tired eyes,
Like violets, opening her eyelids to the light,
Oh she was golden, I caught her still glowing,
I told you where we're goin' girl,
We're off for a dark country ride
I'll tell you a secret, I'll sell you a secret for a song,
Some day I'll tell you and take you back home where you belong
All the leaves are falling, Two suns are slowly rising,
I'll take you where the morning star burns just for you,
My dark country bride
I'll tell you a secret, oh I'll sell you a secret for a song,
I'll give you my soul, babe, an one day you'll give me yours
Oh I'll tell you a secret, I'll sell you my secret for a song,
I'll give you my soul, babe, an one day you'll give me yours
I'll tell you a secret, I'll sell you my secret for a song,
Some day I'll tell you and take you back home where you belong
03 Diamonds (03:51)
Look how the sun, captured by the rain,
Glimmers and falls, and lands in golden balls,
Like a bracelet hung, from a spider's web,
For me to show to you, like gifts,
That you won't forget...
For as long as you live...
See how the rain, captured by the leaves,
Shimmers and falls, and lives on in diamond balls,
Like a necklace hung, over limb and branch,
For me to show to you, like gifts,
That you won't forget...
For as long as you live...
Watch how the stars, captured by the sky,
Appear to die, before our eyes and live on, in other ways,
Well tonite they're mine, for me to show,
For me to shower you, like gifts,
That you won't forget...
For as long as you live...
And you will always have...
For I will always give them...
To you
04 Black Forest (Lorelei) (04:46)
If I was a white horse...an offered you a ride...
Thru a black forest
If we took a strange course...promised you a danger...
For a while
Ooh-ooh (..a white horse)...Lorelei
Ooh-ooh (..a white horse)...Lorelei
There's no way 'round the forest...the only way is thru
An' there's no way I'll ever make it on my own..without you
But if you are persuaded...by all those dragonflies offering you a ride...
I'll know why
Ooh-ooh (..a white horse)...Lorelei
Ooh-ooh (..a white horse)...I'll know why
I'll know why
Forests come in all size...danger many shapes...
Well who's to say
If I was a white horse...offered you a ride...
Thru a black forest
06 In the Wilderness (02:32)
Has she found a way to make her man work out rite,
An' has she found a way to let her man into her life,
Has she found a way to teach her man some control,
Oh to make him understand her, as a whole,
Will she find a way to tell him just how lost she is,
An' will he find a way to lead her out of the wilderness,
Take her by surprise, and not by force,
Oh able to withstand, all her storms,
In the wilderness..things aren't what they seem,
In the wilderness..life is but a dream,
That flows on..that flows on...
Will he find a way to let her play such a sacred role,
Will she find a way to forgive him as a whole,
Oh how can he have been so blind for so long,
An' how can the woman I love, be so strong
In the wilderness..things aren't what they seem,
In the wilderness..life is but a dream,
That flows on..that flows on...
07 In a Funny Way (04:01)
On a summer day you can hear her call,
But in a funny way she reminds you of the fall,
On a summer day you can hear her call,
But in a funny way she reminds you of the fall,
Thru the fields an the streams an the lakes an the trees,
An the grass an the logs run all my dogs,
And I am home again
In the autumn air,
You can see her smile,
But in a funny way she reminds you of a child,
In the autumn air,
You feel her soul unfold,
And in a funny way you feel your own explode,
Thru the fields an the streams an the lakes an the trees,
An the grass an the logs run all my dogs,
And I am home again
Ahhhh Ahhhh
Ahhhh Ahhhh
On a winter day,
You can hear her call,
But in a funny way when the snow begins to fall
On a winter day,
You can hear her call,
And in a funny way,
You love her even more
Thru the fields an the streams an the lakes an the trees,
An the grass an the logs run all my dogs,
And I am home again
Thru the fields an the streams an the lakes an the trees,
An the grass an the logs run all my dogs,
And I am home again
On a summer day you can hear her call,
But in a funny way she reminds you of the fall,
On a summer day you can hear her call,
But in a funny way she reminds you of the fall
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Other reviews
By zaireeka
It is indeed a flat, boring, and formulaic album.
For the rest, it’s truly hard to get to the end, as the songs resemble each other and are shapeless and devoid of ideas.
By Dune Buggy
From the very first listen, you can notice that the band has toned down the 'hypnotic' elements of their style and returned to a more genuine rock.
Unfortunately, the album’s flaw is tracks like 'My Love', 'The Climbing Rose', and 'Black Forest (Lorelei)', which sound repetitive and ultimately seem like unnecessary and boring fillers.
