Customer Reviews

Mercury

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I fell madly in love with Splashdown through the influence of a SF-dj friend of mine, and nearly cried when the band broke up. So glad to see Melissa Kaplan is still putting her brilliance to work in Mercury. Stand out tracks are: Solar/Lunar- which would fit happily on Space Mountain or the Serenity soundtrack, Six-step dragon- an absolutely beautiful synth-asian peice, and Dragonfly.

A word of caution:
As with the case of much of Splashdown's stuff, you may not like this music the first time you hear it. It's very dissonant, oddly unlike what western ears are trained to hear. KEEP LISTENING. After the 3rd time through the album, you will start to pick out the marvelous subtleties in the music.

I bought UHP on the back of Splashdown and was prepared to be disappointed, but was pleasantly surprised to find the album diverse and brilliant. Dragonfly was familiar from the free downloads on the UHP website and stands out as one of the best songs, however there are many to choose from with Avatar and Tutellary Genius being my personal favourites. The blend of upbeat pop and eastern influences with bluesly ballads makes a wonderfully addictive album and while I think all splashdown fans will always hope for a reunion, UHP undoubtedly makes the separation easier to bear.

The only track i havent loved is quiet use of charm, although it seems to be popular with many other people, i find the vocal effects a little irritating and with a voice like that there really isnt any need for them!

Overall a throughly recommended and enjoyable cd.

Poor Melissa Kaplan. The vocalist, lyricist and composer of Universal Hall Pass, as well as vocalist and lyricist of Splashdown seems to be caught in the middle. Those who enjoy more obscure bands tend to turn their nose up at the catchy, upbeat nature. Yet, it's too complex and eclectic for the less adventurous mainstream who would prefer a stunning sex goddess over a stunning talent.

If you'd like something more experimental than mainstream pop, but you're not a snob who listens to bands purely for the privilege of telling people you like them, then perhaps you'll fall into the small window of appeal that Melissa Kaplan's music reaches.

If nothing else, visit www.universalhallpass.com and take a gander at the lyrics. I do believe Miss Kaplan is the most ingenious lyricist I have ever had the delight of coming across.

like most everyone else here, I'm a huge fan of Splashdown, and was very disapointed when I heard they were no longer together.

Then through sheer chance I stumbled across Universal Hall Pass, and then found out that the same vocalist from Splashdown fronts this band.

Not only that, but UHP goes to much further heights. This is simply put a masterpiece.

The album opens up with the rediculously fun and beatles-esque Tutelary Genius. One of the most insanely catchy chourus's ever.

then the album morphs to jazzy trip-hop with Dragonfly.
the album then morphs again to the stunning Misdirected.

In fact this album changes it up so often that I can't see myself ever getting sick of it. They go from rock to trip-hop to very asian sounding, even throwing in a taste of india.

I don't think there's ever been an album like it, nor have I ever put in a CD that's made me rave like this after only 1 or 2 listens. Melissa is a superb and unique vocalist and the music is incredibly detailed and all around wonderful.

this is a must have album

Talk about roaring out of the gate! Mercury is an album that deftly flies from one musical modality to another with the ease and skill of a circus trapeze act!

The album opens with "Tutelary Genius", a breezy, deftly executed pop tune that becomes an instant ear-worm, then seemlessly shifts gears into "Dragonfly", a superbly crafted electronica piece with a subtle jazz feel. This basically goes on through the entire album, each song a delightful surprise, and you find yourself listening to these widely varying genres, loving and savouring each one of them. The attention to detail shines through the entire album, from the kung fu film beauty of "Six Step Dragon", to the mystical lyrics and latin inspired music of "Katrinah Josephina".

Now for the ONE con. Unfortunately, the mix itself has some problems. There are sometimes differences in overall volume of the individual mixes, and in certain areas, some sounds are overwhelmed while some boom out and overwhelm the others, such as the bassline in "Dragonfly". Still, I've heard worse, and the virtuosity of the album proper more than makes up for the slight problems in the mix. Buy this album, it's a treat!

I won't lie, I've been a Splashdown fan for years, ever since I heard "Ironspy" on the local radio station in college. I cried and was depressed for weeks when I heard Splashdown had split. However, Melissa has carried on, and has handled adversity with class and style.

The voice of Melissa Kaplan is phenomenal--her moods range from Bjork to Emiliana Torrini to Sarah Blackwood, but it always sounds like Melissa. She can go from warm and comfy to longing and lonely in the span of one whole note. She has superior command over her vocal cords, and has the ability trill her voice in the manner of the music of Asia and the Middle East.

A run-down of the tracks are as follows:

1. "Tutelary Genius" Smart lyrics over an epic sounding set of verses, with a rocking, pop chorus. The middle of the song segways into a sweet melody and countermelody over the sticcato notes of a xylophone, then launches straight into the chorus again. The diversity of this song alone foreshadows the rest of the album.

2. "Dragonfly" The beginning of the song has a mysterious quality to it, and resides most definitely in the realm of trip hop. The beat is trip hop, but with trumpet over the beat in the middle half of the song. Melissa comes back in, and her voice is longing and mournful. A masterpiece. This song can be found on the UHP website.

3. "Misdirected" A haunting piano intro, the song begins delicately, then surges into the chorus. Melissa pounds the piano to make her point; the notes accentuate her voice. "Misdirected" goes quiet again, with Melissa's voice almost a whisper, then she cranks up the intensity heard earlier in the song. This tidal movement of the music conjures up an old Splashdown lyric from "Sugar High": "You can be the flow and I can be the ebb..."

4. "No One" Another classic Melissa Kaplan piano song. She seems to be singing of a relationship gone wrong. "No One" reminds me of something you would hear in one of those detective movies from the '50s, in which the PI goes to a lounge late at night in the heart of a city, and there on the stage, illuminated by a spotlight, is a singer in a sparkling dress with a soulful song to sing. He is captivated. If "No One" does not make you feel hypnotized, you should probably check yourself for a pulse.

5. "Katrinah Josephina" A ballad in which Melissa is accompanied by a phenomenal countermelody during the verses, but there is complete harmony during the chorus. The end of the song adds a trip hop beat, with the mysterious sounds of Melissa singing through what should remind the listener of a turn-of-the-century phonograph. It works very well for the song.

6. "Six-Step Dragon" Absolutely mindblowing. Melissa channels all of her Far Eastern influence on this gem. A very Asian-sounding melody and beat, but with a trip hop edge. As always, her voice soars, and the beauty of the song blooms like a lotus flower. The imagery of the song reminds me of the cinematography at the end of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Fantastic violin work that truly captures the sound of eastern music. This song alone is worth the price of the album.

7. "Avatar" She makes singing sound so effortless. Another piano intro, with small bits of percussion and strings joining in later. The sound soon grows larger, and begins to add bits of synth, but still sounds organic. How does she do it, and do it so well?

8. "Solar/Lunar" A faster tempo, and wouldn't sound out of place at a dance club. It sounds very futuristic in both tone and lyrics.

9. "Special Agent" Simply put, this song rocks. Driving guitars and an upbeat tempo make it belong on a rockin' road trip CD. The lyrics have attitude and insight. A fun melody upon layers of sound, with Melissa's vocals on top of it all. Alternative songcraft well done.

10. "Quiet Use of Charm" Haunting piano with fast drum machine breaks. It sounds as though Melissa put her voice through another filter during the verses; it has the sound of coming off an old 45, but the chorus is not distorted. It is a rare singer indeed who sounds great in both cases.

11. "Outro" This is the song that will confound most listeners who are not familiar with Splashdown. "Outro" is very, very experimental, but is still inspired. To be honest, I don't understand the song, but I do not attribute it to bad songwriting--I attribute it to my being nowhere near the plane of existence in which Melissa Kaplan resides.

Another reviewer said that it takes 2-3 listens to Mercury to truly appreciate it. I would say that this is true, not because the songs are bad, but because it takes multiple listens to train one's ear to their complexity.

In a just world, Melissa Kaplan would be more well-known than she is. My only conclusion is that Earth is not ready for her music, from both Splashdown and Universal Hall Pass.

I have been a long time fan of Mel, her voice sounds like no other and is hopelessly addictive! Anyone that is familiar with her previous works, most notably Splashdown knows what I mean. This album is very different from the stuff she did with Splashdown but is so amazing in the variety of styles that change from one song to the next. As with Splashdown the music is brilliant and Mel's voice is absolutely incredible! I find myself liking the cd more and more every time I listen to it and noticing new parts of the songs pulling me deeper into layers upon layers of ear candy! Give it a chance you will be hooked! If you can I would highly recommend listening to this with a good set of headphones like the Senn HD650's and a headphone amp, you won't believe your ears!

For years I'd been mourning the unfortunate disbanding of Splashdown. To this day they remain one of my most beloved bands. For the longest I'd waited for the members to reemerge in a new form. Sure this happened with 2 out of the 3 of Splashdown's members in the form of Freezepop an interesting group to say the least. Now finally Mel Kaplan and her voice have returned to her fans in the form of Universal Hall Pass.

If you were a fan of Splashdown you will be in for a treat when you realize that Universal Hall Pass does what Splashdown did and then some. Just when you thought Miss Kaplan's voice couldn't get any more amazing it does. From the commentary she puts forward in Tutelary Genius to the haunting vocals and interesting story in Katrinah Josephina, there is something for everyone.

I for one am looking forward to what Mel Kaplan releases next. UHP is definitely a project that has proven its worth and I applaud Melissa for coming back to a music industry that favors talentless hacks over real gems like her. March on miss Kaplan, march on. Your fans are with you every step of the way.

After listening to the same Splashdown songs for a few years and wondering very, very hopefully and perhaps somewhat desperately if there was any chance of them please getting back together, I felt positively giddy (giddy, I tell you!) to find that Melissa Kaplan was now running Universal Hall Pass. This is an amazingly eclectic (in a good way) CD: it's sort of rock, sort of pop, sort of mellow, very cultured, entirely undefinable, catchy but never shallow, and exceptionally brilliant.

I have been a fan of Melissa Kaplan's work since she was apart of the group, Splashdown. As a result, I have been waiting for her first release as Universal Hall Pass for quite some time. As one might expect, after years of waiting, my expectations were incredibly high. Fortunately, I was not disappointed in the least. "Mercury" is incredibly diversified and has something for everyone (rock, techno, asian, pop, alternative). Melissa's lyrics and her voice are, as usual, an amazing combination and its a shame she doesn't get more recognition for her work. My favorite tracks couldn't be more different: "No One" (a simple piano melody) and "Six-Step Dragon" (A techno/Asian mix with surreal lyrics). I recommend this album to anyone!