Light Flows The Putrid Dawn
Soft Abuse, 2004
rating: 4/5
reviewer: davidbohm


It's not too difficult to imagine a continued narrative throughout Carey Mercer's body of work. As mastermind behind the excruciatingly glorious Victoria, British Columbia band Frog Eyes, Mercer weaves tales of an old world gone by and its epic battles and long fabled lordships. He is not shy in proclaiming his love for the classics (see TMT Frog Eyes interview), and in a slight sense, the Oxford-educated Mercer seems out of his time, or at least out of his place as a manic, guitar thrashing warbler and intense stage performer. Perhaps this is why Frog Eyes is such a unique musical entity, the Great Books collection of the indie world, if you will.

Light Flows The Putrid Dawn sees Mercer going it alone under the moniker, Blackout Beach. And if, indeed, the first two Frog Eyes records are continuations from a common lore, then Blackout Beach could be seen as our hero's dream sequence after a day of forest dwelling contemplation, newly separated from his clan after months of wartime exploits. At a mere 24 minutes, none of the 14 tracks fully realize themselves before being overtaken by the next, but they are not meant to be taken on their own. Since we are on the literary kick, they might be best considered as chapters. The majority have a common theme among them of gently tinkling pianos and guitars, with a murkiness lending itself very much to the dreamlike context and distant sporadic drumming, conjuring up the heartbeat of a looming danger. Mercer's vocals are restrained to match the polite and subtle nature of the sound, but his usual repertoire of growling hushes and swooning falsettos are still very much in play.

Mercer has a habit of penning song titles that establish a track's inscrutability before the first note is even played; and while songs like "The Stuttered XXX Breeze XXX" appear casually to keep any meaning well hidden, there is never a doubt that he knows exactly what he is talking about and perhaps, if we were a little more well read, we might, too. And this is not at all to say that it is elitism. It is simply the way Mercer incants; it's his world of which he is the scribe, though his lyrics do often find points of readily apparent elegance when, "In fall, I'll keep my promises 'til winter stops its streams." The lazy waltz of "Krull Courtship" gives way to the whimsical dual vocal confession of "The Putrid Dawn Is Only For Us, Baby," and lulled in an augmented timber, we are ill equipped to foreshadow where this vision may lead us to. Such is the essence of "The Transfiguration of Bo-Brick-Ius," as a gorgeous rising tide of organ swells and the plinking of a child's xylophone descends reluctantly, but quite naturally into sounds of dark foreboding. All put together, Light Flows The Putrid Dawn is more attuned for dusk listening as the rigor mortis of the day's vapid humidity sets in and the shadow people still stand too tired to make an appearance.

When the tale continues in September with the eagerly awaited new Frog Eyes record, our hero will once again abide by his clan through perils and prize, ship and sea, friend and foe. What Blackout Beach will mean to the ultimate story in the end is about as uncertain as the wavering of the album between clear flowing streams and thick swamp fog. The tone is unsure but the author is not, and as you grow accustomed to Mercerian lore, this becomes more and more acceptable.

1. If I Were Not Alexander, I Would Like To Be ________
2. The Swineherd Sings And The Fountain Dwellers Grow Apart
3. Krull Courtship
4. The Putrid Dawn Is Only For Us, Baby
5. Fever Of The Patriots
6. New Soft And Shimmering Motherhood Alliance
7. See: There Is The Wisest
8. The Stuttered XXX Breeze XXX
9. The Painted Forest Screen Hides Its Witch
10. The Reticent Burglar's Den
11. The Transfiguration Of Bo-Brick-Ius
12. Meadows And Pleasant Madames, Or Something Of The Sort
13. The Hobo Who Learned To Eat Stone
14. The Quiet Merchant Gets His Song Too