COUNTENANCE

The Mercury Tree is a group that I'd always meant to check out, as I heard about their ingenious blend of jazz, psychedelic and progressive rock quite a lot (probably somewhere around the release of their second studio album "Freeze in Phantom Form," back in 2012). Led by singer/guitarist Ben Spees, they formed in 2006 and gained attention with the release of their debut full-length "Pterodactyls," and album that was preceded with series of EP releases. Their newest offering is "Countenance", an album that absolutely blew me away with freshness it exudes in every second. In fact, rarely have I been so instantly and overwhelmingly impressed by new music before.

Possibly the best description of this recording lies in a question the band asked on the album's Bandcamp page: "Why wouldn't there be a dragon in space?" You'll think, what kind of an unserious question that is. The Mercury Tree's music is far from being unserious, what they keep proving throughout the album on many, many occasions. So, what then? Though it seems unlikely you will see any dragons these days, the playfulness and a little bit of satire behind these words speak a lot about the album in question. Drummer Connor Reilly offers a good explanation of what Countenance is about, telling Prog Sphere: "Countenance takes a little bit of every direction that we've been exploring over the last four years and mashes them all together to create what I feel is an eclectic, yet exhilarating experience. Each song has its own unique identity, but at the same time, is definitely part of one bigger picture."

That seems accurate. With its luscious timbres, multiplex arrangements, skilful dynamics, and riveting vocal performances, comparisons to several superb artists including King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Radiohead, Tool and The Mars Volta are apt. It's impossible not to be in awe of Countenance.

"Pitchless Tone" begins sparsely, with a chamber piano echoing, soon to be followed by Ben Spees' clean guitar staccato-ing. The band is on a quest to find a pitchless tone, with Ben singing: "do you really not yet know, I define a nameless shape, I define a markless gauge, I define a pitchless tone." The variety in sound comes forward with the following "Vestigial," which features whistling. There is an overall lighter attitude to the song, which with its warmness feels like above-mentioned King Crimson and The Mars Volta might have crafted together. It's more accessible, but it's still quite adventurous and complex.

An alternative rock beginning of "Otholits" comes in agreement with lyrics which read "every day splits me in two, make it three including you." But soon enough things get quirkier, what turns into probably the most schizophrenic and extraordinary entry on the album (what seems to be expected from a 11-minute long piece). The song offers masterful dynamic changes along with peaceful passages. These juxtaposed approaches shift constantly as the duration progresses, making it an incredibly exciting and daring affair. This piece alone should earn The Mercury Tree a lot of acclaim.

"Mazz Jathy" and "Jazz Hands of Doom" are the only instrumentals on "Countenance," and both allude what to expect stylistically.

The group's peculiar lyrical content continues on "To Serve Man" and "The Ellsberg Cycle," with the latter featuring vocal performance by bassist (or to say it more accurate - fretless bassist) Aaron Clarke, who almost accusatory sings: "pin a man for the crimes of those who were too scared to speak up, pin a man for the lives of those who died for an empire."

At the end, it's more than obvious that I love this album, mainly due to how distinctive, courageous, complex, catchy, and colourful it is. Because it combines so many dissimilar influences with a tremendous amount of originality, "Countenance" doesn't really sound like anything else being made today, and that alone makes it remarkable. It doesn't hurt that the songwriting, arrangements, and performances are top notch too. Really, albums like this demonstrate how special music still can be. I'm often very critical of how mundane, repetitious, uninspired, and just plain useless most popular music is, and so bands like The Mercury Tree feel like a true breath of fresh air. "Countenance" quickly became one of my favourite albums of the year, and I have no doubt that you'll feel the same way once you experience it.