Mercury Rev: The Secret Migration : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The timing is excellent for Mercury Rev to make one of their best albums yet. Since the release of this Catskills-based group's 2001 album All Is Dream, friends and kindred souls like the Flaming Lips and Grandaddy have nurtured growing interest in glistening, spacey tunes tied to mischievous art rock. The Secret Migration seethes with life and loveliness, building on the beauty of Dream and 1998's Deserter's Songs but steering clear of the dark overtones on those albums. Shorter, more focused tracks feature keyboard-rooted melodies that flatter Jonathan Donahue's dazed vocals. "In a Funny Way" recycles classic Phil Spector percussion riffs and adds the band's own operatic female warbling, symphonic strings, Byrds-like guitars and all-around studio sweetness. The catchiest cut, "Moving On," is just seventy-eight seconds of angelic, harmony-drenched chorus -- nothing else is necessary.