Mercury Rev was formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York, by David Barker (vocals), Jonathan Donahue (vocals, guitar), Sean "Grasshopper" Mackiowak (vocals, guitar, flute), Dave Fridmann (bass, piano, mellotron), Suzanne Thorpe (flutes), and Jimy Chambers (drums, clavinet). The lineup changed over time. By the early 2000s, only Jonathan Donahue and Grasshopper remained as constant members.
Their experimental, psychedelic, trippy rock, characterized by noisy guitars, gradually became more melodic and with a more minimalist sound. Yerself Is Steam, the band's debut album, released in 1991, received critical acclaim. After their second album, Boces (1993), disagreements led David Barker to leave the group. Jonathan Donahue took over as lead vocalist and the band took a different direction, replacing the noisy sound of their songs with a more orchestrated sound, while maintaining their experimentalism on their later albums.
Their third album, See You On the Other Side, was released in 1995. And in 1998, the acclaimed Desert's Songs came out. The fascinating instrumental combination and Donahue's delicate voice give a deep dimension to songs like "Holes", "Endlessly", "Opus 40", "Goddess On a Hiway" and the danceable "Delta Sun Bottleneck Swamp", on the group's fourth studio album.
After Desert's Songs, Mercury Rev released the album All Is Dream on September 11, 2001, in the US. This was followed by The Secret Migration (2005) and Snowflake Midnight (2008).
The band returned with a new album in 2015, when they released The Light in You, their ninth album. The Light in You was their first album produced solely by the band, with the collaboration of former member Dave Fridmann.
In February 2019, the band released the album Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited, a tribute to the album The Delta Sweete, the second by American singer Bobbie Gentry, released in 1968. All the songs on this tribute are sung by guest singers, including Norah Jones, Hope Sandoval, Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Laetitia Sadier, Marissa Nadler and Beth Orton.
The group returned in 2024 with a new work of new songs, when they released Born Horses.
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