Customer Reviews

Loses Control

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

 

 

He finally did it. (Note: this review has nothing to do with Elliott Smith.)

Every fan of Braid or Hey Mercedes has once wondered in their heart of hearts if Bob Nanna and co. would finally issue a straight-up, honest pop record. We're talking Material Issue, Dada, or the Raspberries. Loses Control recalls all of their reference points: earnest `70s power pop, affected `80s Smiths influenced alt-rock and `90s Midwestern basement angst.

How they've incorporated the last one without resorting to cheesy Taking Back Sundayisms beats the hell out of me. Even the Get Up Kids can't get it up anymore. In a word, Loses Control combines quality, hooks and power. Hey Mercedes always seemed to have two out of three. Until now.

"It's Been A Blast" recalls much of the late Braid's power (and the late Braid's late period, natch, as that's when they regrouped as Hey Mercedes.) Early Braid always relied on cute Kinsellaesque puns, skronky dueling guitars and single-tracked vocals, whereas the work of 1998's Frame & Canvas and their last few singles ("First Day Back," "Please Drive Faster") relied more on chunky chord progressions.

The fluid majesty of the late Braid days stands out on tracks like "Go On Drone," an ode to the girls and streets of the Midwest. Loses Control is simply an album about beer and girls, but one of the best ones in recent memory. "Oh Penny," makes listeners remember why Nanna's ear for an odd melody is one of his strongest assets.

The first track, "Quality Revenge At Last" is the obvious single. In the video, car wash squeegees mimic Nanna's Xerox-copier guitar, and it works. Hold Sean Slade responsible for the assured, dense production. Sure, it's no Live Through This or Pablo Honey, but Loses Control possesses much of the sunny self-assuredness of Slade's work with Juliana Hatfield, Echobelly or Papas Fritas.

Even the more mediocre album tracks like "Knowing When To Stop" and "The Boy Destroyers" would sound like highlights when juxtaposed with their last album, 2001's Every Night Fireworks. We got a winner on our hands - just don't tell the teen demographic that a bunch of 28-year-olds wrote their emo-pop album of the year.

Confidential to Nanna: all bonus points awarded for unironic quotation of Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" on "Lashing Out" are hereby revoked for all references to the Knack, either musical or lyrical. To paraphrase David Crosby, referring to John Lennon's assassin: "We must never say [their] name."

This album features more angular guitar work, amazing drumming (think: Dave Grohl), interesting lyrics, tons of melody and a highly produced vocal treatment that all adds up to great power-pop rock. The songs are tight (checking in at about 4 minutes each) and upbeat rockers with layers. The more you listen to these tracks, the more you hear in the music. Try this album with a good set of headphones - you'll see what I mean.

This is not indie or emo. It is polished, super-catchy rock cut from the cloth of Foo Fighters & Nada Surf - not bad company at all. Highlight tracks include: Unorchestrated, Police Police Me, Oh Penny and The Switch. Really, the second half of the album is excellent. I would highly recommend this album to listeners who enjoy bands that have the ability to mix loud guitar & drums with melody. Very underrated band!

If you like hey mercedes, then stop reading right here. Go out and buy this album if you haven't already. Selling out? Well, considering that the rising popularity of Emo is causing major record companies to pump more money into their smaller divisions like vagrant (who release hey mercedes albums), then yes, They've "sold out". I would think that if a band releases an album that has a higher production value, the fans would be pleased to see that their favorite band is finally getting realized. Obviously ive become a plastic goon and a media dog, since I thoroughly enjoyed this release. THOROUGHLY!! GET IT?! Seriously though, you can hardly notice a change in their style. Just a few more overlays here and there, but no major changes.

This cd has lived up to all the hype! The guitar work is amazing and the vocals stellar. The production on this album is obviously better, but this can only enhance good music. Standout tracks: well...its too hard to pick a favorite but great ones-besides Quality revenge at last- are Absolute Zero Drive, Police Police Me, Lashing Out, Go on Drone, The Switch and Its been a blast- but all are great and unique in their own way! This cd is strongly recommended and this fan hopes much more is on the horizon from Bob Nanna and co.

Alright, the first time I ever got a chance to hear them was at a live show and they kicked ass. I bought their cd and it was great but not as great as the experience of seeing them live. Also, Braid (Hey Mercedes former band plus another person) is having a reunion tour. If you get a chance you need to go see them b/c they are just as good if not better than Hey Mercedes. There are no bands to compare Hey Mercedes to really. Good vocals, great drums, and just overall good music. Enjoy

After seeing the band for the fourth time, I feel like I really know this band. Their latest album was good when I first started listening to it. But after seeing the band live and hearing the songs live and then GOING back to the songs, you have a complete different experience!

"Quality Revenge At Last" is great song and should be a Modern Rock hit. "It's Been A Blast", "Knowing When To Stop", "Lashing Out" and "Go On Drone" are really good songs... I don't have any of their earlier week (3/4ths of the band where in the INDIE ROCK band Braid). But I'm going to take a look at it. Buy this album!!

I don't like this album as much as their earlier stuff. I have liked each release less than the previous, and this one falls right in line with that trend. The opener "Quality Revenge . . ." is one of their best songs hands down, though. This is a very good CD, but the farther from Braid we get in time the less I seem to like their music.

I don't know what everyones problem with this album is, I think it's superb. At times it's worse than "Everynight Fireworks" and at times it is better. "Loses Control" is a solid second album, and is a far cry from a "sophmore slump". Speaking of sophmore slump, it seems to me that that term only applies to bands who only have enough originality to write one good album. Some of the best albums I've ver heard where sophmore efforts, and this is one of them. "Everynight Fireworks" was a great album, and so is "Loses Control". Where Everynight was warm and lush and full of youthful energy, Loses is well...warm lush and full of youthful energy. I think everyone (including me) was still heartbroken about the lose of Braid, and wanted Everynight to be a continuation of Braid instead of the begining of a new band. Well Everynight sounded like Braid lite in a way, and at the same time was something new and dare I say better. With Loses Control Hey Mercedes has drifted further from that "3/4 of Braid" tag and have begun to perfect their own unique sound. And they have created another catchy, melodic, and beautiful rock masterpiece. I will say that this isn't as solid all the way through as Everynight was, but there are numerous bright spots on Loses Control. The production is top notch, although I would have liked to see them stick with J Robbins. Overall, this is a truly catchy, truly rockin, amazing CD that everyone should own. Fans of the last CD should like this, I don't know why so many dislike it. Buy Everynight Fireworks, buy this album, buy their EPs, buy everything this band releases, because they will always get you dancing and will never dissapoint lyricaly, musicly, or in any other way.

My two favorite tracks are "It's Been a Blast" and "Go On Drone", and "Quality Revenge at Last" is the catchiest song written since "Frowning of a Lifetime".

for me, "loses control" took a couple listens to fully appreciate it. that was the same for me with their first album. I think hey mercedes is the kind of band that appears to be just a simple little rock band, but if you give it more then one shot you'll notice a lot subtle things that you misse the first or even secod time around.

I couldn't tell you enough about Hey Mercedes' first album "Everynight Fireworks" how original and awesome it was. Then came their sophomore release "Loses Contol" The first track starts off just as any Hey Mercedes song should, awesome guitar riffs, inticate drumming, and killer vocals. As the cd goes on, the songs being to melt with each other creating a very trite sound. If you haven't listend to Hey Mercedes you should start with "Everynight Fireworks."
It seems their second album, even with more money and more studio time, doesn't even begin to come close to what Hey Mercedes was.