Customer Reviews

Hey Mercedes EP

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If my wallet of 200-some-odd CD's had never been stolen 3 1/2 years ago, I would not like this ep or this band. It took that tragic situation to force me to listen to this CD more than a couple of times (it was all I had left) to realize it's one of the best CDs ever made. I can't pick a favorite song. I love all four of them. They are my favorite Hey Mercedes songs to this day. Nothing on any of their later releases has impressed me as much as these four songs have. That seems to be at least my deal with this band . . . I really have to give their music time to grow on me, and I end up loving it as some of my favorite music. So if you imediately don't fall in love with this CD or any of their other stuff (if you do, awesome!), give them more than just a couple of listens. Kind of like giving that person you view as less attractive than the other girls you like a chance, and you discover that they're more than you could have ever asked for from those other "surface beauties." Hey Mercedes' music has depth and longitivity, and this album has the most of it.

You might as well go ahead and get this EP, because Hey Mercedes is writing and performing beautifully now, and will continue to do so for some time, it appears. Robert Nanna's voice is warmer than blankets. Don't fret about the fact that there are only four songs -- they'll get you all worked up and excited about the upcoming full-length. This is rock.

In a few Words.... Hey Mercedes Is the best band around..... "Well, Braid is the best band around" but Hey Mercedes really Rocks..... They have so much energy and so much power into their songs..... All four songs are pure magic into guitars, bass, drums and vocals... Great Album........ MUST HAVE.

I was pretty excited when I first bought this EP. It only cost five bucks at the Hey Mercedes concert, and I thought to myself that if it was anywhere near as good as the show they put on then I would be really happy with it.

So I popped it into my stereo on the way back up to MSU from the Magic Stick in downtown Detroit, and was greeted by the opening drum hit of "Bells." Good start. I checked out the CD's jewel case at a stoplight. Hmmm. Only four songs. I was a little surprised. I knew it was an EP, but if they've got six or seven songs completed to play live, why haven't they got them recorded? So I was a little disappointed, but right at that point "Bells" ended, and man, it was good. Great energy, sharp musicianship, and catchy as hell.

The second song started. This one didn't sound quite as energetic. Not nearly as catchy, either. And it was too long; I suffered through it. The third song kicked in. Sappy. I checked the liner notes to see if it was a Goo Goo Dolls cover. It wasn't. So again I suffered through it and I waited for the fourth and final song to begin. I waited. And I waited. But there was no next song. I figured out what had probably happened before I was able to verify it with the "skip" button on my car CD player. The second and third songs were virtually indistinguishable, and I had thought they were the same one. I was irate, and so formed my first opinion of Hey Mercedes' self-titled EP: it sucks.

A few days later I popped it back into my stereo and listened to it all the way through again (all 17 minutes). I was surprised to find myself enjoying it a bit. Just a bit, though. I knew "Bells" was good, but this time I really liked "St. James St," too. And sure, the end of "St. James St." kind of blends into the next song, but outside of that the two sound completely different. But "The House Shook" sounded choppy and awkward, and "Stay Six" was still sappy. This is a band that writes 3-minute pop songs and then stretches them to four minutes by adding "unexpected" tempo changes and "interesting" stop-start dynamics. A cheap gimmick, I thought, and it wasn't working on me. After a few more listens, I decided it wasn't terrible, but nothing new or original either, and so I decided to log onto Amazon.com to write this review: 2 stars.

I put the EP on again as a backdrop. I listened as my Pentium 133 booted up, and I listened some more as I tried to connect to the Internet with my 28.8 connection. I was actually able to listen to it all the way through again before my modem had even dialed. And guess what? Everything clicked. This is a great EP. Everything is tight. The lyrics really sink in after about 5 or 6 listens, and they're good. They really are. Their lyrics are just smart and really affecting, and without all that repetition. And all those stop-starts and tempo changes really do work, in the end. And that one sappy song? Well, I guess I'm just a big softy at heart.

It's good to see that 3/4 of Braid has gone on to great things. On this EP, there are lots of similarities to Braid (just compare "St. James St." to "Collect From Clark Kent" off of Frame And Canvas), but Hey Mercedes also sets out into their own sonic territory. The witty lyrics and biting guitars are still here, but Hey Mercedes sticks to more traditional rhytms and song structures. The hooks aren't as strong as they could be in a couple of tunes, but for a first recording this is great. Highly recommended if you enjoy earlier Promise Ring or newer emo bands such as Brandtson.

Hey Mercedes is a bit of a let down. It makes one realize how much Chris contributed to Braid by way of guitars and vocals. Picture listening to a Braid song with Chris' guitar and vocals turned off... there's just something missing that Hey Mercedes couldn't make up for. Being that it's an EP, it's a good time to sample them before spending more on a future LP. This is an EP that will probably be a no brainer for braid fans.

Well, fans of Braid will no doubt find this to be a must-have. Nothing about the record offends, but the departure of Chris Broach from the Braid stable has taken a lot of the edge off this band.

For those not familiar with Braid, Hey Mercedes makes smart, witty and relentlessly catchy post-emo pop that won't send your parents scurrying from the living room or running for the phone to contact the PMRC hotline. Worth having.

Yeah chris broach is gone, but it doesn't matter--rob nanna's voice has gotten better. "stay six" "the house shook" and "st james street" all succeed on several levels. buy it, on the real.

It's new, it's full, and I will probably keep it with my other Braid and Head East albums.

Hey Mercedes do very well on this ep, they will be as big or bigger than braid was before they broke up. "The House Shook" is by far the best song on here. Rob Nanna's voice makes the band. Don't get the stuff from napster, buy the cd.