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THE REVIEW
Year 1991. A band from Buffalo called Mercury Rev decides to release on 35 mm film some songs composed to accompany the images of films shot by their college mates. What comes out (and will later be published in more accessible formats) is one of the most beautiful psychedelic rock albums: "Yerself Is Steam", an intense, hallucinated, wild album.
It all starts with the drunken and distorted chant of "Chasing A Bee", built on a Neil Young-style melody that gradually gets smothered by deafening feedback, with a song-ending accompanied by a fairy-tale flute. Within the grooves of "Yerself Is Steam" are then found wild rides and stretches like "Syringe Mouth" (a hypothetical hybrid between Pixies and Flaming Lips), and "Sweet Oddysee Of A Cancer Cell T'Th'Center Of Yer Heart", played on an alternation between menacing stasis and chaotic sound vortices reminiscent of the Velvet Underground. But there's more: "Blue And Black" is a track with a gothic mood accompanied by an orchestral arrangement that would not look out of place in a Hollywood soundtrack, "Frittering" offers a poignant Pink Floyd-like melody that floats in the air like a cloud for 8 minutes, "Coney Island Cyclone" a beautiful rock track built on the guitar riff of "Walk On The Wild Side". And finally comes the long mantra of "Very Sleepy Rivers", which with its Indian melody and hysterical singing drags the listener's mind towards oblivion, at the end of an unimaginable journey.
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Summary by Bot
Released in 1991, Mercury Rev's Yerself Is Steam is a landmark psychedelic rock album known for its intense, wild, and hallucinated sound. The album features a mix of distorted melodies, experimental arrangements, and influences ranging from Neil Young to Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd. Notable tracks include 'Chasing A Bee,' 'Syringe Mouth,' and the epic 'Very Sleepy Rivers.' The album offers a dramatic and immersive listening experience that captures a raw, emotional journey.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev is an American rock band formed in Buffalo, New York, known for a shift from early noisy, anarchic psychedelia to more orchestral, dreamlike pop, with Jonathan Donahue and Grasshopper frequently cited in reviews as central figures.15 Reviews
Other reviews
By De-cano
Too chaotic at times, at first listen they might seem like a poor copy of the Flaming Lips... as you continue through the album, you realize that this might actually be their intent.
Chaos that is not primordial, but immature and lavish.
