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Music Review

Deserter's Songs

Mercury Rev
Reviewed by Tom Sinclair | Sep 25, 1998
Tom Sinclair
Tom Sinclair
Tom Sinclair is a senior writer for EW and has been called "the handsomest man in rock criticism'' (by his wife)
EW's GRADE
A-

Details Lead Performance: Mercury Rev; Genre: Rock

New York's Mercury Rev have always been one of those ''file under: weird'' bands, but their fourth effort, Deserter's Songs, feels like a watershed, the point where their heady mix of orchestral pop, roots rock, psychedelia, prog, choral, and chamber music finally crystallizes into something special and damn near ineffable. Until someone figures out a genre tag to hang on what these loons have created, let's just call Deserter's Songs the art-rock album of the year. A-

Originally posted Sep 25, 1998 Published in issue #451 Sep 25, 1998 Order article reprints

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