Mercury Rev has officially lost me. I found no enjoyment in listening to Snowflake Midnight and couldn't help but feel that the band has been transformed from cutting edge Alternative Rock into a New Age enigmas. Songs like the instrumental "October Sunshine" seem pointless. I do like some of the effects they use like the synth heavy "Runaway Raindrop" but for the most part I just felt like taking the headphones off. "Dream of a Young Girl As A Flower" was just plain boring. I guess I could kind of see Donahue heading in this direction on their previous Secret Migration but I didn't think the rest of the band would allow him to go this far. "Butterfly's Wing" is probably the best song of the set.
It may be possible that I just didn't give Snowflake Midnight enough time to grab me. Other releases from Mercury Rev didn't take that long to hook. Regardless, Snowflake was one of this year's letdowns. Not enough substance this time around.
(Yep Roc 2008)
Reviewed on 2008-09-25 18:20:39 by Dennis Scanland
