Everynight Fire Works

Hey Mercedes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 23, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vagrant Records
• ASIN: B00005LQPQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,842 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Personal vocals, angular guitar work, syncopated drumming and soaring anthematic choruses. Bob Nanna and company have returned with an infiltration of new influences that has created an entity of sound that is second to none. Produced by J. Robbins (of Ja

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The CD of a Lifetime.., October 23, 2001

By 

Brock Brown (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Everynight Fire Works (Audio CD)

Truly, if anything could be said about Braid and their influence on the world of Emo music it could be said that it added a much-needed darker element to the often-weepy genre of poppy rock music. Most if not all songs put out by a band in the genre would linger endlessly on the loss of a girlfriend or a significant other and the torment caused by such a tragedy. Sob songs of remorse and betrayal litter the battlefield of this openly criticized and underground subculture of music.

Then Bob Nanna came along, and with him he brought the torrent of change and the gift of influence. Soulful and depressed bands such as the Get Up Kids or Sunny Day Real Estate would describe the morning of a breakup with a longtime relationship, Braid on the other hand would describe the revenge and disgust to be had from it.
It was a shock, a kick and it was a darker presentation of Emo with a sharp tinge of edge to it, which often brought as many critics as it did supporters. No acoustics or simple vocal solo songs could be found in their work, which was simply a barrage of sounds and hardcore rock music which linked into each different note of music and clashed with each lyric or spoken vocal. Now, in the wake of the breakup of Braid we have many numerous artists, each with changed opinions and styles of performing because of Braid's work in the Emo world. Saves the Day itself often describes violent and hasty actions to the hurtful emotions felt from everyday life, while Reggie and the Full Effect has a sarcastic and mocking lyrical style. All of this is the result from the changes that were brought about.

Now after a few years without Braid and without the work of Bob Nanna him and his friends return with a new group and a new style of music built upon their older progress in the genre. Hey Mercedes is the offspring of the many years of development and lack of the original superstars of Emo, and its debut album "Everynight Fire Works" is well worth the wait. Consider that even though the style of music behind the artists has changed dramatically, the outcome remains to be the same. It's not as edgy a group as Braid once was; however, Hey Mercedes offers many defining moments in this CD. Brilliant guitar work and sequenced drums blend together to express an array of emotions from anger, to hatred to surprise to sarcasm to plain and simple contempt with a weaving growth and persistence of happiness. Each song is in itself a single entity of composed mastery, never straying from the centered angular guitar work or the buzzing background hum of the combined instruments, always pushing forward the result of a new story or a new predicament. And yet, even though this is an Emo CD it stands as perhaps the most refreshing and constantly listenable piece of work since "Through Being Cool" by Saves the Day. It never drags you down or locks you away in a whirlpool of needless and overwhelming emotions; it picks you up and cues forth-uplifting songs. And through each track, through each lyric, through each guitar plucking you feel just a bit more devious, a bit more daring. This isn't a CD for the coffee shop or rainy day contemplation, this is rock, and this is the action that results from a problem.

Pick it up, you'll never regret it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything Fire Works, February 8, 2002

By 

A. Kohler "andysavestheday" (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everynight Fire Works (Audio CD)

This CD is superb. I love it. Hey Mercedes is 3/4 of the legendary Braid. The group have toned it down a little since the glory days of Braid, but this is still a great album. Everyone keeps complaining because this doesn't sound like Braid and it isn't as heavy or whatever they wanna say. When a band moves on and changes, it shouldn't sound the same. Even if the music was great, a band isn't a good band unless they change and make better music. The songs are as smooth and tight as they ever were in Braid, and written almost as brilliantly. Everything flows and sounds good, and nothing is repeated. The whole album has a unique feel and sound that sets it apart from every other emo/punk band out there. Similar to the fact that Braid had there own sound that set them apart. Hey Mercedes have carved their own little niche, and it's up to them to stay in it and make great, well written, well played inteligent music, or jump right out and form a new niche with the next album. Either way, I don't think that this band can do anything wrong, and they'll sound great no matter what. Braid always did. Amazing band, amazing CD.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great CD!, October 4, 2003

By 

Aaron Edwards (Campbellsburg, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Everynight Fire Works (Audio CD)

1/4 Alkaline Trio + 1/4 Jawbox + 1/4 Creeper Lagoon + 1/4 Buffalo Tom = Hey Mercedes

Some fantastic songs on this CD. The best of which would have to be "Let's Go Blue"..this song really blew me away, not to say that several other songs on the CD didn't..this one just stands out most to me.

The vocals meet in a very warm place between Jawbox(whose vocalist produced this CD) and Alkaline Trio...and the music is somewhere between Buffalo Tom and Creeper Lagoon.

A fresh and original CD that I would recommend to anyone looking for a solid rock and roll experience.