Call me a cynic, but for a while now I've had the impression that the term "best unsigned band" is little more than a badge of honour pinned to the chest of the "deserving" individual(s) by smug music writers, eager to show how "tuned in" they are and how little they give a shit for the mass-produced major label filth that floods our airwaves and our eardrums. The recipients aren't much better, either, often leaping on the award, plastering it across their MySpace page, the sole purpose of which is to finally secure that major label signing - that pathway to the stars - that they've been dreaming of for years. So please excuse me if I my pulse doesn't start fluttering upon reading the opening paragraph of the accompanying literature to Texas band The Mercers' EP "Giant" (although at seven tracks and thirty-one minutes, mini-album is probably more accurate), which quotes them to be one of Esquire's "best unsigned bands in America".
But in this happy case, my cynicism is misplaced; Austin-based band The Mercers (is there anywhere more musically fertile in the States than the Lone Star State's capital?) prove to be far more than expected, offering the sort of melancholy infused roots-rock that signals no little ambition and, in Peter Wagner, one of the most intriguingly distinct voices in rock at the moment; care-worn and ever-so-slightly frayed, it betrays a melodic edge not entirely unlike Cat Stevens - sorry, Yusuf Islam. Bookended by two stand-out tracks - the schizophrenically woozy "Ladredo" and the epically majestic "Val Value" -, "Giant" slides through a mixture of Americana-infused rock - although the band prefer the description "The Shins meets the Who" - that both convinces and charms. "Ladredo" throws a curve-ball from the off, throwing a lightly strummed guitar to the left before catching you on the right with curiously modulated vocals and resonating guitar echoes, the whole producing a eerie psychedelic-tinged cocktail that reminded me a little of the Kings Of Leon's "Trunk". That is until it plunges headlong into an unexpected tempo change, hitting a decidedly poppy home straight of blazing widescreen guitars, and suggesting that the group's professed appreciation for the catchily cultured rock of Built To Spill has not gone unexpressed.
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Yet whilst it's quite easy to play the game of influences I-Spy - definite hints of REM, the aforementioned Built To Spill, Wilco, an energetic pop tendency not unlike The Slip, if you're really interested -, "Giant" is entirely worthy of praise on its own merits, baring its hardened southern rock teeth on the howling "A Seat On The Starla", and stomping all over the ballsy new wavish "NGO". The best, however, is saved for last, with the gloriously beguiling "Val Value". The track swells beautifully as Wagner's lugubrious vocals ("Bait my tongue with whatever isn't safe/whatever fits today/it won't see the end"), augmented initially by a haunting whistle, become more torn under the weight of chiming guitars. A gentle middle eight marks the addition of the understated twinkling of piano before gradually blossoming all over again.
Not only does "Giant" remind us once again of the city of Austin's potency for producing captivating music, but it also presents a band thoroughly deserving of a bit of recognition beyond its home state. So much so that I'm going to stamp them with an over-used term of my own: "ones to watch". While a major label deal may be a little way off yet (and indeed, their MySpace page has them signed to Victim Records), the scope of their musical vision ensures that this latest mini-album merits being nothing less than the end of the beginning for the band.
Author's note: "Giant" is currently available as part of The Mercers' financing project to record their next album. $20 will buy "Giant" plus the new album, as well as additional exclusive content made available during the recording process. Further information can be found on their website.
The Mercers online
The Mercers on MySpace
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