Mercury Rev

Blending alumni of the Flaming Lips and disciples of Velvet Underground crony Tony Conrad, Mercury Rev revved up art-punk engines on Yerself Is Steam. It's one of the freshest -- and weirdest -- debut albums of the '90s: A vocalist murmurs non sequiturs, flutes flutter, jarring sound effects intrude and fade, and three heavily distorted guitars whirl and plink. On "Chasing a Bee," white-noise avalanches alternate with the sound of coos and mooing, while "Car Wash Hair" achieves a blurred folk-rock majesty.

Boces and See You on the Other Side are as much documents of the band's breakdown as they are coherent musical statements, the aural diary of six musicians simultaneously heading in different directions. Deserter's Songs chronicles the repair process; along the way, however, the reconfigured band apparently lost its distortion pedals. In their place is a symphonic tapestry of bowed saws, woodwinds, flutes, and vintage synthesizers, evoking a desolate but still wondrous world. Reference points include old church hymns, scratchy 78 r.p.m. records, Delta blues, and Eastern European folk, and the mood is one of slow healing. All Is Dream is nearly as thrilling, with even denser orchestrations heightening the drama of fragile impermanence. (GREG KOT)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide