Hey Mercedes was the far too short-lived (2000—2005) outfit formed by Bob Nanna after Braid broke up. Now, I was never into Braid back in the day (and in fact I've revisited their material since becoming a huge Hey Mercedes fan, and I still just don't "get it"), so I had absolutely no idea who the hell Hey Mercedes was in the beginning. I got into the band about four years ago, oddly enough the same way and at the same time as I discovered their Vagrant Records labelmates No Motiv: I saw their 2001 full-length debut, "Everynight Fire Works", in a pile of used CD's for like $2 or $3, thought it looked interesting, and bought it on a whim. Big win there, 'cause this is definitely their finest release, and all 43 minutes are absolute perfection on every possible level. 11 tracks of catchy yet musically proficient emo/indie rock with super unique singing and an overall sound that's very much rooted in the type of aesthetic the genre carried throughout the 90's, but with enough forward-thinking sense to keep it sounding fresh and original. I could (and probably should) go on and on, but this shit will totally speak for itself. Awesome songs, awesome artwork, awesome production... you can't lose, man. For immense music nerds like me there's absolutely nothing better than randomly buying some CD you've never heard of and having it kick the shit out of you right off the bat, and there's no doubt this album was just one of those instances for me. I fully recommend everything the band released in their time together, but this is definitely "the one". Love this stuff. Love it.
Hey Mercedes "The Frowning of a Lifetime"
Hey Mercedes "What You're Up Against"
Hey Mercedes "A-List Actress"
Monday, this is what you're up against. Your head rings to the rhythm of the alarm clock. Time in, breathe in, time out, breathe out. I doubt that this is what you're all about. Tuesday, this is what you're up against. The television and your version of aversion. The car, the candy, and the shower curtain, blurting out the answers you didn't even ask for. But it's bound to get better. It better. Slow motion replay, day in, day out. We came all this way now, we'll fire up just to push them down...
It looks like the label's selling this one for a mere $5 these days, so there's really no excuse. If you like what you hear (How the hell could you not!?), fuckin' buy one.
Comments
SUCH AN OVERLOOKED BAND!!!! As all good short-lived bands go, they broke up right as I was discovering them so I was never able to see them live. I think they were more “listenable” than Braid was and garnered a whole new audience with the emo kids. But they still had that heavy post-hardcore thing going too which pleased people like me. Thanks for the post - they’ll now be on heavy rotation for the 4th of July weekend. Cheers!
7.4.2008 | By Franz
So good, so underrated.
7.4.2008 | By Keith
hmm not bad.
7.7.2008 | By Adrianoso
damn. i dont know how you get these bargains. the 4-5 record stores i go to know everything about everything. its like they buy a house to knock down and strip the copper pipe and take off the aluminum siding first…..
7.16.2008 | By L.Ron
this album was amazing. can’t believe these guys never got the props they deserved. good post.
7.26.2008 | By tim