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Mercury Rev: Born Horses review – a lush and serene return
With a half-new lineup, the US rock band’s first album of new material since 2015 finds them in dreamy, reflective mode
Their first album of original material in nine years – with new members Jesse Chandler and Marion Genser now flanking the core duo of Grasshopper and Jonathan Donahue – finds them once again sounding as though they’ve been delving into their collective subconscious. Gorgeously unhurried seven-minute opener Mood Swings sets the tone, with Donahue’s semi-spoken vocals backed by slow and wistful trumpet and stream-of-consciousness lyrics taking in “rebellious fickle teenagers”, “a child’s rocking horse” and “pill bottle spills”. Elsewhere, animal metaphors abound – most notably horses and birds – while Patterns has a childlike sense of wonder at the beauty of the natural world, with bonus wry commentary on Ireland’s weather.
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