It took maybe ten seconds for New York’s the Mercury Seed to
remind me of about six bands. The Allman Brothers, Cream, Counting
Crows, Whiskeytown, early-’70s Rolling Stones and, more than
anyone, the Black Crowes. Yep, this is good old-fashioned
lung-straining, head-bobbing, blues-based,
jangly-melodies-and-big-greasy-guitar-solos late-night-bar-band
rock and roll.
The Mercury Seed — who seem to have parked themselves musically
in about 1973 — obviously aren’t slaves to fashion, and that’s the
beauty of this effort; it’s music that doesn’t even try to strike a
pose. Instead, the band keeps it raw and real, and what comes
through is what any label should look for in any artist — passion.
These guys — Volker Lemmer (vocals), Darren Salmieri (guitars),
John Jackson (guitars), Gary D’Andrea (bass) and Rob Langer (drums)
— love what they do, and believe in these songs 110%.
Highlights include the restrained power of the steady-building
“Last Trace” (where the addition of piano gives it a distinct Band/
Big Pink feel), the “Tumbling Dice”-ish country-rock of “Two
Steps (From The Move),” the chunky Aerosmith-esque boogie-thump of
“Coming Down Again,” and the swirling, Cream-y closer “Times Of
Trouble.” The production is clean but organic, with an immediacy to
it that puts you right in the room with the band. The fadeout-free
“live” sound is so pervasive on this disc that, after listening to
the Mercury Seed throw themselves into ten meaty tracks here, it’s
easy to believe they must be holy terrors on stage.
An interesting side note: the packaging on
Dust is more professional than many indie bands manage to
pull off; if not for the fine print, you might think this disc came
out on Columbia Records or some such. Unlike a lot of musicians who
moonlight as designer/photographers, Volker Lemmer appears to have
a good eye for art direction. (But, please, drop the pretentious,
editor-annoying period from the name… you guys have too much
talent for that.)
This sophomore independent release showed me dynamic
arrangements, strong compositions, excellent musical chemistry, and
most of all, total commitment by the band to these songs. Whatever
the Mercury Seed achieves this year will be a direct result of the
palpable passion they’ve poured into
Dust.
