Customer Reviews

Everynight Fire Works

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

1/4 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.

With Hey Mercedes, I came in expecting nothing more than a rehash of the Braid days and was pleasantly surprised to see them develop their sound. Are they changing the world of music as we know it with this sound? No. But is that really what's important? They are creating great songs that make you want to pop this CD back in time and time again. They've kept the best parts of Braid and expanded. More so than having an elaborate concept album or a huge stadium tour or whatever, that is the sign of a great band. I can't wait to hear where Hey Mercedes goes next.

I have to say that the first time I put this CD on, I wasn't sure if it was a keeper. I gave it another shot and then another and I think I can safely say I am hooked on it now. Lyrically, they could be stronger but it is a solid CD. Just give it some time if you don't like it at first.

While The Get Up Kids and Dashboard lure in all these "emo" bandwagon kids, Vagrant Records is quietly putting out amazing releases like this one as well. Hey Mercedes may not be as distinctive sounding as Braid, but they have put out a more coherent album than Braid ever did. This is catchy, driving rock with captivating angular guitar lines. The songwriting is very tight, with every aspect from the lyrics to the basslines contributing to the total statement of the music. There's not a ton of variety here, but the band does what they do well. "Frowning Of A Lifetime" and "Our Weekend Starts On Wednesday" are standout cuts, but every track grows on you over time. If you miss the mid 90's midwestern emo sound, here's the perfect band for you, with some good old rock and roll thrown in to keep it interesting.

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. This is also one of my favorite bands of all time. And what do they do? The break up. Oh well, at least this piece of artwork was created... and I managed to see them many many times while they were together. The guitar-work, drums, vocals, lyrics, everything is genius. I get confused when I hear people say that hey mercedes isn't as good as braid... that's just... crazy. I'll admit that the only braid show I saw was when they got back together for a reunion, but I've seen videos. Nonetheless, you should own this album.

I find it very hard to describe this record.

Take everything you loved about Braid, add pop, growth, and even more off time signiture.

That is Hey Mercedes, and this record is a classic. Not to mention, Bob Nanna has the best guitar tone in the world. I love this record, along with "Loses Control. I highly recommend both.

You really just need to hear it.

If I had written this review . . . say . . . oh, a year ago or more, I would have probably given this album 4 stars. But Hey Mercedes has a weird way of growing on me as time passes. And now that I think about it . . . I just gave "Loses Control" 4 stars. Hmph. Maybe I should have waited on that one. We'll see. I love everything about this album, even that really weird song "Quit." But the best songs on this CD are "The Frowning Of A Lifetime", "Eleven To Your Seven", and "Let's Go Blue". Those songs are the rockinest. Not much else can be said. This album's just really good rock 'n roll.

I had downloaded "Eleven to your Seven" and "Frowning of a Lifetime" from this CD to see if I wanted to buy it. I liked those songs a lot, and I kept listening to them, so I decided "Hey, why not buy the CD, I have a few spare bucks on me." Well, to say the least, I've had it for about a week, and its all I've been listening to. It hasn't left my CD player. I can't think of a bad song on this CD. You have to listen to it with an open mind, trying to like them I guess for it to have the full effect. Every song is just so powerful and amazing. This CD is truly mindblowing. It might be a turnoff to some people, you have to be a litle bit into the more underground emo/indie scene, instead of just listening to the emopop bands like dashboard confessional, (new)saves the day, thegetupkids, etc.
3 Favorite Songs: Quit, Eleven To Your Seven, Que Shiraz.