2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Secret and safe, August 25, 2005
This review is from: The Secret Migration (Audio CD)
It takes awhile to figure out just what is wrong with "Secret Migration," the latest by British rock band Mercury Rev. But eventually it becomes obvious what the problem is: It's not grounded enough, and too sleepy and lush. It has some of the bones of their best work, but it ends up being a bit cloying.
The past releases by Mercury Rev have been on par with stuff like the Flaming Lips and Sparklehorse -- brilliant, otherworldly and complex. Here, the fairy-tale motif takes over, rather than orchestral pop and psychedelic rock. Ye Olde Renaissance Rock'n'Rolle, maybe, with mentions of "morning stars," white horses, sinister forests, silver oceans and fairy rides. Pretty, but not very substantial.
Musically, the band is still in solid form -- lots of epic soundscapes and rich instrumentation. Sure, they have wandered all over the musical palette, but they never fail to sound lush and interesting. The one flaw is that they lost that folksy edge -- especially the bowed saws -- that characterized their sound in "Deserter's Songs."
It starts off with a series of very grand, rich songs, which are sent up in the air by piano and organ, and only rooted by some very solid basslines. But with "Vermillion," the soft piano revs up into a faster tempo that carries over until the final round of songs, which are airy but surprisingly powerful. Synths and soft bass are what carry the songs into that pretty, if less powerful, sound.
The songwriting stumbles slightly. Jonathan Donahue's unmelodious vocals are a bit on the annoying side, but the lyrics are also weaken "Secret Migration." A few like "In The Wilderness" have the spare, grounded sound, but often the lyrics are dressed up in Ye Olde Rock'n'Rolle descriptions: "See how the rain, captured by the leaves,/Shimmers and falls, and lives on in diamond balls,/Like a necklace hung, over limb and branch,/For me to show to you, like gifts." It just barely misses being exquisite, and ends up a bit contrived.
Mercury Rev has a rare miss in "Secret Migration," which is just a little too fairy-tale-ish for its own good. Were they to ride dragonflies less often, they would sound pretty close to perfect.
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