Song of the Day No.54

Prosperous

by Shady (World, 1994)

After two albums with Mercury Rev, vocalist David Baker left the group at some point after the release of the band's sophomore LP Boces in 1993 and has produced just one record since then. World goes into a darker, more sonically challenging dimension than subsequent Rev albums and if Deserter's Songs (1998) is chosen for the comparison then the rumours of Baker's drug abuse can be discarded in favour of citing musical differences.

The contrast with Mercury Rev's post-Baker releases varies track by track with 'Prosperous' being of a more melodic vane. It opens with gentle picking that provides continued texture, a half wailing guitar riffs above punchy drum beats. Baker's lazy rough-edged vocals appear to act on inertia alone through the verses and provide the undulating melody that washes the chorus over you and back to shore again. The tidal rhythm ebbs and flows to the end with sensatory waves of sound crashing and adding layers until, almost without wanting to, it squeals to a halt.

AR