BOCES

"Boces" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US rock artist Mercury Rev. The album was released through Beggars Banquet in June 1993. It´s the successor to "Yerself Is Steam" from May 1991. It would be a the last album to feature lead vocalist David Baker, who left in 1994 citing musical differences as the major reason for leaving.

Although the band did experience some commercial success with "Boces", which peaked at #43 in the UK charts, it´s not a particularly assessible release. Stylistically it´s quite adventurous and psychadelic tinged rock music, perfectly showcased by the 10:29 minutes long opening track "Meth of a Rockette's Kick" and the 10:55 minutes long "Snorry Mouth", which both feature longer experimental psychadelic tinged sections. Those two are the most experimental tracks on the album though, and the remaining tracks are slightly more regular structured vers/chorus compositions with added psychadelic noises and effects (and a lot of noisy and distorted fuzzy guitars). The tracks aren´t always that catchy, and melodies generally take some getting used to and to remember. "Boces" is a dynamic release with both aggressive noisy tracks, and more laid back mellow songs.

The sound production is a bit on the thin side and could have prospered from a more warm organic production choices, but it´s not a bad sounding release, and the band probably got the production they were aiming for. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.