As far as I can tell, ‘The Shadows’ by London-based Americana-tinged band My Mercury is not a tribute to the instrumental band who peaked in the late 50s/early 60s. Harold Macmillan was the Prime Minister then, and he famously said that the British population had “never had it so good.” In these fractured and fraught times, it’s tempting to believe him. Tempting, but not mandatory. Maybe one day I’ll agree with a Tory but today is not that day.
Anyway, ‘The Shadows’ is the final single to be released by My Mercury before their debut album comes out on 27th February. As announced in a review of their previous single, ‘Karaoke Friday’, Starship 3000 will be launched at the Shacklewell Arms in Hackney on 5th March. The band will then be at the Ivy House in South London on 17th March.
The new single is another Michael and Xanthe duet, their voices fitting together like a hand in a bespoke glove. “The sun overwhelms and blurs everything / The moon shows your shoulder and jaws so well,” they sing over acoustic guitar and sprinklings of violin, entranced by beauty and their ability to capture it. If Arcade Fire performed Radiohead’s ‘True Love Waits’, it might sound half as gorgeous as ‘The Shadows’.
‘The Shadows’ is out on 13th February via Bandcamp
My Mercury: Bandcamp | Instagram
Review by Neil Laurenson
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