The Mercury Program (named for Project
Mercury, whose flights launched
from the band’s home state) is a post-rock band from
Gainesville, Florida. The
Mercury Program was highly influential to post-rock and
its development, as well as having a continued influence on
instrumentally-focused experimental rock and jazz-inspired rock. Although they have
been around since , their lineup has been
stable ever since , when Whit Travisano joined the
band as a dedicated vibraphonist/keyboardist/pianist. The Mercury Program were initially very
active around the turn of the millenium (
– ), and then settled into a more casual cadence,
releasing full-length albums in and .
The Mercury Program are noted for their pervasive use of vibraphone, although their sound very much centers around the drums and (largely clean) bass guitar. Not all
of their music is instrumental, as earlier works featured vocals. Earlier works also sometimes featured distorted guitar/bass guitar — the sound that they
are now known for did not fully develop until their EP, “All The Suits Began To Fall
Off”. The following LP, “A
Data Learn The Language”, would become their most well-known album,
cementing them in the pantheon of post-rock greats and also
showcasing moderate influence from math rock (c.f.
Physics). Although The Mercury Program have been
compared to seminal Chicagopost-rockers Tortoise, The Mercury
Program’s musical approach is quite different: they lack the strong
Tortoise, instead opting for arrangements reminiscent of western chamber music or a jazz rhythm
section. In the same vein (and also reminiscent of jazz) is
their focus on producing rich
harmonies, often awash with chords
that interweave driving basslines, repetitive riffs, and longer-form melodies
into a cohesive whole.
notes on the distributions
Some sources list the release year of “Lights Out In Georgia b/w Small Projects” as , although it was apparently recorded in , so if the initial release was
in , it must have been very late.
“Confines Of Heat” was a combined CD+DVD release, with the DVD
containing video of both bands. This listing only reflects the CD portion.
“Crusading Theme” was composed by Savath & Savalas.
![cover art for “[split] Versailles / The Mercury Program”](versailles---the-mercury-program.jpg)
![cover art for “[split] Confines Of Heat”](confines-of-heat.jpg)
![Japanese edition liner notes [1]](a-data-japan-liner-notes-1.jpg){kind=link}
