Mercurial Rage CD

There are times when you miss the music you used to listen to -- dark, lonesome nights when the beer\'s been flowing, and you get that feeling in the middle of your gut that feels kind of like nostalgia and kind of like ache, and you go for the back of your record collection where the stuff you played back in high school lives, and you blow the dust off that disused record way in the back that you used to play every day when that one girl or that one boy broke up with you, and you grin and put it on and there\'s that *feeling*, y\'know? That feeling that you\'ve been here before but not *quite* deja vu, right? And you fall in love with that record all over again, and suddenly its all about *right now* rather than the past, and the thread is created between the two.That\'s Mercurial Rage, right there -- that gorgeous ache, that mixture of pleasure and longing. Songwriter Christopher Church writes songs that remind you of things, sometimes, but its more just the impression of things, and its always things you miss and wonder how you lived without them for so long. And lead singer Michael DiGreggario is a rock star of the old school, back before it became uncool to be a rock star and it became all about staring at your shoes and not trying hard enough, and he does the Jagger thing where he injects passion and cool into everything he sings. Butch McQueen is an amazing guitarist too, and he knows his way around a Roxy Music record, and every note he plays is just perfectly considered, not a thing that\'s nonsense, nothing making no sense, all right. Brock Landers adds in texture, feeling, melody, hooks, threads, everything else and the kitchen sink, and back in time for tea.Their self-titled new record sounds like the Greatest Hits of a band that\'s been around far longer than it has. My favorite song is \"Moonlight\" which sounds like some new kind of soul music, combining the grit of \"Exile On Main Street\" with the cool calculation of Depeche Mode\'s midperiod work. Dig the guitars on \"Situation,\" the way they slash and burn like a pissed off Andy Taylor or, if one is being generous (as one should be) Phil Manzanera. \"Give It Up\" fairly boils; a sexy, propulsive little number with a synth rhythm that kicks your ass. And live favorite \"Out Of Control\" sounds full of life and energy, and DiGreggario sounds like he\'d like to take you home, pronto, and have his way with you. Oh yeah -- two great remixes of stuff from the last album, including the terrific \"Star Star\" and a magnificent \"Soldier Boy.\"