Primarily based in Rosarito, Mexico, Mercvrial is a geographically-dispersed recording project in which its members combine elements of post-punk, dream pop and neo-psychedelia to draw the listener into “an opaque musicverse of sparkling melodies and layered guitarchitecture,” the band says in press notes. Back in 2019, the post-punk orientated recording project released their critically applauded debut EP The Stars, Like Dust, which drew favorably comparisons to Creation Records‘, Flying Nun Records‘ and 4AD Records‘ output in the 80s.
And if you’ve been frequenting this site since then — or even earlier — you may recall that in early 2020, I wrote about the hook driven, Wire meets The Church-like EP single “Hsieh Su-Wei” is a shimmering and reverb-drenched, motorik-groove driven homage to the unorthodox Taiwanese tennis professional, Hsieh Su-Wei.
The mysterious, Mexican post-punk outfit’s full-length debut Brief Algorithms is slated for a white vinyl release through British label Crafting Room Recordings — and will be available on all streaming platforms on April 29, 2022. The album will feature guitar from The House of Love‘s and Levitation‘s Terry Bickers on half of the album’s tracks — including the album’s first single “Be That Someone.”
Centered around an angular bass line-driven motor groove, glistening, reverb-drenched guitars, metronomic-like drum patterns, a yearning vocal delivery and the band’s unerring knack for crafting a razor sharp hook, “Be That Someone” sonically reminds me quite a bit of 90125 era Yes and Garlands era Cocteau Twins but with a sleek, modern production sheen. Interestingly, the song comes from a familiar and very lived-in place for most of us at some point in our lives: the need and desire to be liked, desired, wanted — and to have sex.
The accompanying visual is an incisive criticism of our social media-based world: We see people endlessly scrolling and liking on Instagram and posting for pictures with hopes of getting likes. We also see people constantly lying about how awesome their lives are — because they’re desperate to seem likable, popular and beautiful. But in reality, everyone is bored, empty and disconnected.