It's kind of like a new release, since I just found out that it had been released. I've been preaching the Gospel of The Mermen for over a decade now. This remarkable instrumental trio from San Francisco has offered up their moody blend of neo-psychedelic noir surf music since the late 1980's. Equal parts Ennio Morricone, Dick Dale, Jimi Hendrix and Neil Young (of Arc/Weld period), The Mermen take all of these elements and create a cinematic soundscape. A friend of mine once commented that their music is so vivid and lyrical, that it sounds like little movies.
In God We Trust is the long awaited follow-up to their 2000 masterpiece The Amazing California Health and Happiness Road Show. And while it does not match the greatness of The Amazing California... (few records do, that one appeared on my All-Time Dez Greats list a few years back), it still reaches admirable peaks on its own terms.
Songswriter/guitarist/head-Merman Jim Thomas clearly wants to continue mining the the longform epic structure, as the first four tracks here clock in at over 10 minutes each. IGWT opens with the almost 14 minute multipart "One Hundred Foot Lemon," which is a longtime fan favorite that is released officially here for the first time. While it is good, the record really grabs you with the second track, the lilting and lyrical "Trapeze," which sounds like a beautiful Explosions in the Sky song, but with more direction. It then moves into the driving and pulsating "More Wood Less Head," where Thomas fully indulges his experiments with a full range of effects on his guitar. Things do lose some steam with the impressionistic "There Is a Door, It Opens, Then It Is Closed," though.
From there they deliver shorter, more traditionally-structured songs. It's a mixed bag. Noise experiment "Righteous Punishment" and "Costo Knowone" don't really go anywhere, but "Jesus in the Sky" may be the most beautiful song of the record, "Apo Calypso" is the hardest rocker and most accessible thing here and closer "Last Forever (Current Sea)" is a moving, melodic tune that sounds like a piece of film music waiting to be used.
I would recommend getting the version with the bonus tracks, because the live 17-minute bonus cut "Drivin' the Cow" is a tour de force jam that has surf energy, but Allman Brothers level groove.
If you are new to The Mermen, definitely start with The Amazing California Health and Happiness Road Show, but after that you can move on to this one (or, if you are a bit more daring, the now hard to find A Glorious Lethal Euphoria is an experimental stunner as well, where Thomas masters feedback to glorious effect).
***1/2 out of *****
1 comment:
Enough of this rock and roll, let's talk about Newt.
How can you not write about Newton? I mean it is awesome, the corruption, the hypocrisy, the wife's bobbed haircut?
Let's get moving
Willis
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