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http://twowaymonologues.com/review.php?reviewId=1024
KEY WITNESS
MERCURY IN RETROGRADE (2007)
Mercury in Retrograde is a splendid mix of art rock with a hint of country that is rich with rustic guitar twangs, husky vocals and elegant string work. The album length seems a bit short, timing out at just over half an hour but it certainly makes up for it with its nutritiously absorbing tunes.
Track 3 Desert Novel is my fav track found on the collection, the song is epic and tells a story through its narrative lyrics, large builds and textured theme. As I listen to it I envision a western landscape and far in the distance walks a gunslinger (Roland if you’ve read any of the Dark Tower series by King) to his unavoidable fate. I find this to be a pretty rare thing because I usually never find imagery in lyrics that connects and recalls a story that I’ve read…way cool experience.
Blood & Black Lace is a completely moving symphonic poem that is passionately delivered by all members. The dramatic vocals and violin creates a powerful emotion that really shows the savvy musician-ship side of the group. J.M. McNab’s voice eerily resembles Layne Staley’s from Alice in Chains on this track, the first time I heard it I kind of did a double take or listen in this case as I reminisced back to my AIC days.
Song 7 Earthbound Ghost is one of the softer tunes found on the album. It slows the mood right down and gently rocks the listener just like a lullaby should. The cello is such a nice touch and adds a delicate tone to the accompanying violin and guitar melody. The blend of strings in this song is totally awesome and enchanting, I’m thinking of asking them to play a Christmas party at my place or to just come over and play me to sleep!
Finishing up the album is a song titled The Hellmouths of Bewdley. This track is named after a collection of short stories by Tony Burgess that focuses on the isolation of communities across rural Canada and the violence that occurs there. The song itself is really interesting; it starts off like a ticking time bomb with tragic builds and a sympathetic choir but is mainly instrumental until about 3 minutes in…then the vocals creep in and hash out a story or what could be a confession? The song switches back to instrumental with a ghostly choir and the song winds down and finishes off with one last whistle of the melody.
I had the chance to catch the Toronto locals live at the last TWM show which was my first introduction to them where I also scored the cd (thanks dan) and haven’t listened to anything else since. What is cool about this album is that with every listen new parts and instruments are heard, all that is needed is to turn the volume notch up by one and more of the background elements show themselves. I think Mercury in Retrograde has enough substance and boot stomping pop to appeal to more than just the indie crowd. Key Witness is having their cd release party this Saturday Dec. 15 at the Tranzac for those of you who want to see this 6 piece live and join the party.
SCORE: 8.4
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