Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam

Much praised in the U.K. press, this is a reissue of the 1991 debut of a highly touted Buffalo, New York, band. Somehow tuneful psychedelia cheerfully coexists with the white-noise maelstrom. --Jeff Bateman Amazon.com

Shreds your ears and melts your mind

This is one of the most original, jaw-dropping debuts in the history of rock music. No reference points can be drawn to it, past or present. This album exists in a universe of its own. Whatever the inspiration for Yerself is Steam, it is unlikely it will ever be tapped again by Mercury Rev or any other band. I suppose the best way to desrcibe it is as a modern-day Piper at the Gates of Dawn- completely out of left field. This album will floor you. August 1, 2007

AWESOME

Yerself Is Steam is an album of sweeping anthemic bursts of rock that follow strange trains of thought. The opener Chasing A Bee is a symphony of skilfully applied distortion and rumbling guitar attack behind world-weary lyrics, leading up to an earthquake-like climax and then subsiding to the tune of a flute, leaving the listener breathless at its conclusion. There are also the majestic swirls of Coney Island Cyclone, the straight hard rock of Syringe Mouth and the intelligent piano, orchestral buildup and poignant lyrics of Blue And Black. Steam was a most impressive debut album that extended the boundaries of rock in daring new directions. Just be warned that this is not immediate music - it takes persistent listening to really grasp, let alone appreciate, its subleties.
February 27, 2006

Less than steamy

Mercury Rev are known now for their melancholy orchestral pop and ye olde rock'n'rolle. But they had a very different sound in their debut album: 1991's "Yerself Is Steam," a sound dominated by ex-member David Baker. Don't expect the rough sweetness of their second album...

This is a far less appealing album, and far set apart from the sound of every album that came after it. Thick waves of fuzzy guitar and rough synth overwhelm the title track, and obscure all lines but the ominous "Remember that yerself... is... steam!" The resulting dark pop song is strangely compelling, in a weird psychedelic manner.

Unfortunately, it gets old by the fifth time you hear it. Only a few songs really deviate from that fuzzy, disconnected sound, cycling around until the songs blur together. The melodies of half the songs sound alike unless you listen to them several times, and many of them have unmelodious squeals and synth flourishes that make that hard to do.

There are a few songs that break from the mold, however. "Blue and Black" is an enchantingly ghostly melody that bursts into dark grandeur by the end; consider it a preview of what Mercury Rev later became. "Sweet Oddysee Of A Cancer Cell T' Th' Center Of Yer Heart" has the same sound as most of the other songs, but stripped down and expanded into a rich, epic soundscape.

And of course, the bonus track "Car Wash Hair," which only got tacked on with the later release, is pure beauty -- half rainy garden, half enchanting, mellow pop tune. Alas, these three alone can't overwhelm the misuse of fuzz guitar and squealing guitar.

It certainly doesn't help that Baker -- who was drummed out of the group after this album -- has a very unappealing voice. He doesn't sing, as Jonathan Donahue later did; instead, he intones in an annoying twang. He sounds like a cowboy trying to go avant-pop, and only sounds hideously out of place, especially when reduced to just yelling "Yeeeaaaahhh!" over the music.

Released four years and a band breakup before anything else Mercury Rev did, "Yerself Is Steam" is dramatically different -- and not in a good way. Instead, it sounds like the Pixies on a bad acid trip. August 13, 2005

Tracks 1, 5, 6

Most of this album is Janes addiction/ arena rock rip offs, but tracks one five and six make the whole trip worth it.

I highly recommend driving through Colorado black mountains(to the west of 75) with the windows open blasting the music so the scene and sounds merge August 20, 1999

sonic delirium

this record does funny things to my head and my speakers....i am very fond of it indeed.acquired taste .car wash hair is one of the most beautiful songs ive ever heard.the record is all over the place to be honest...and sometime u just think they are testing your patience most notably very sleep rivers....i recommend listening to it at the loudest possible volume coz i think track 5 is totally demented!!!!!the production is bloomin huge!!!!!!it eats the speakers and shreds my head in a good way.intense in a mushroomtastic sort of way..a nice accompaniment to loveless...... August 2, 1999

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