Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam (Album Review)

 

Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam

(1991)

My copy: 1991 press on blue vinyl by Mint Films.

Getting their start in Buffalo, NY scoring student films, Mercury Rev’s first two full-lengths utterly revolutionized the sound of neo-psychedelia with much credit being owed to the ambitious production style of Dave Friddmann. Originally fronted by David Baker, the group were known for expansive soundscapes with occasionally dense guitar sections influenced by a love of the Stooges, etc. On Yerself Is Steam the band concocts a rich potion of enchanting instrumentals, fitting nicely under whacked-out vocal performances. 

“Chasing A Bee” is a wonderful introduction, with far off acoustic guitar gaining on woozy groaning background sounds. The vocals are hung-over and borderline demented as they stumble around the guitar. The track picks up and expands into a hot-air balloon fueled by crackling distortion and a grinning vocal chorus. Flute adds a new layer with calming harmonies - and it is mixed well enough to not feel like a gimmick a la cheap prog bands. Friddmann’s production style is well known for its abrasive moments; the tracks feel somber and relaxed until one particular noise element explodes at just the right volume to set everything on its head. 

The sharp guitars of “Syringe Mouth” toy with punk ideas though the dueling clean and dirty vocals anchor things in psych music before everything is sucked into a tubed of wavy distortion. “Coney Island Cyclones” is airy and whimsical, slowly adding more and more tension each time it passes through the chorus. The juxtaposition of utterly destroyed lead guitar and crisp rhythms are intoxicating. The tempo is maybe a bit slow for a song of this energy, and it seems to fade away prematurely. The vocals reach a new level of off-kilter on “Blue And Black” which channels the more bizarre side of Zappa or Beefheart with its low-pitched rambling. There are background noises and smooth flanged guitar to keep things sane, and a sentimental piano melody appears as the progression becomes more evocative and emotional. There is a certain human element in the arrangements, as chords coolly switch from tender to confused and mysterious. 

“Sweet Oddysee Of A Cancer Cell T' Th' Center Of Yer Heart” ensures everything sways with a thick, watery production through layers of unrecognizable samples, as if the band were actually playing from inside the human body. There are consistent pulsating effects on the instrumentals, with everything beating naturally around tremolo tension and dynamic drum eruptions. This is their most prog-rock song, though dipped in a certain experimental jazz attitude with an ending that ripples into intense, noisy chaos. The mood is dialed back with “Frittering” which basks in a simple and mysterious progression, with new instruments rising to meet the vocals systematically. The track borders on space-rock with deep bassy droning and wavering solos. 

There is a humorous interlude before the final hypnosis of “Very Sleepy Rivers” which glides through its vaguely ominous bass line for just over twelve minutes. The length is more than justified, as the mesh of psychedelic elements combine to form a sort of twisted lullaby meant to bob and rock one’s psyche into submission. It very much would be boring if it had been done by any other band, but here the rhythmic repetition pushes the track into new territory. Not included in the vinyl release is the extraordinary bonus track “Car Wash Hair” which was later released as a single and featured after a few minutes of silence on later releases of Yerself Is Steam.

Though this first album went largely unrecognized by wider audiences, it certainly reshaped how many bands would look at the production of psychedelic music. It is choppy and muffled at times, but the trade off with its utterly dynamic noise sections are well worth some loss of fidelity. It's hard to beat a two album run like Yerself Is Steam into Boces, and the band would lose a lot of its eclectic personality following these releases.