Review Summary: Please, give (Oh) Mercy to me for thinking this was a horrid album.
I have a habit of sleeping to music. Lately this music has been what I recently acquired; this has been going on for some time. I turn the music down low (otherwise it’s just me listening, not sleeping); this does work for the most part. However, there lays the dilemma, I sometimes don’t fully appreciate the said album.
At the time of writing I am going through my 2009 albums. By doing this I am listening to everything and am thinking of the best, the mediocre and the worst albums of 2009. Therefore I decided to spin Oh Mercy which I thought would be on the worst albums of 2009. I’d only listened to this while going to sleep, which I thought was pretty easy to do. It didn’t seem to grab me at all; there was nothing that was distinct. It did just seem like they were privileged woes, as in it was very glitzy, full of glamour, very shiny production, no life experience in the words and yadda yadda. Boy was I wrong!
While most of my conceived thoughts are fairly true, there were also a lot wrong with them. The album is glitzy, however, its not because it is all fun, catchy but with no substance. Its glitzy because it is fun, catchy and has substance! Whether it be, ‘Broken Ears’ that’s full of swing due to the jazzy trumpets, a glockenspiel and whistle in the background (reminiscent of Dave Matthews Band) or the harmonica entwined ‘Get you back’. I’m sure Myles Woottons programming should be commended for contributing these sounds. While ‘Met a wizard’ is bit rough with ever-so-slightly distorted guitar which is a bit similar to Television.
The great thing about Oh Mercy; they use easily accessible instruments with gentle, soothing melodies. This could be greatly contributed to Alexander Gows honest but beautiful voice and Thomas Savages piano/guitar that are a great accompaniment to Ms Gow. Lyrically they are fairly good too, they may not be profound but it does not seem like they are blasé either. As I am now onto ‘Couldn’t let you drown’, Ms Gow, sings (repeatedly) ‘I couldn’t let you drown/ In a foreign town’ while these are not the greatest lyrics, they give an idea of what is on the record. There are a few woes such as previously mentioned ‘Get your back’ where Thomas Savage sings, ‘Well, I had too much too much to drink/ I never told I didn’t loved her/ Now she’s gone back to her sisters arm/ Goddamn I miss her’ and 'By the Collar's, revengeful 'I'm missing some pages because I tore some of your favourites out'.
2009 keeps on delivering me surprises and makes me take back what I sometimes perceive as being not that great. The record is not the greatest thing, nor very ground breaking. However, Oh Mercy should probably be placed with the other new female artists such as La Roux, Florence and the Machines and Paloma Faith.
