Mercury Rev

Beginning as avant-pop pranksters and evolving into purveyors of rootsy, majestic psych-pop, Mercury Rev aren't so much a band as a long, strange trip. Led by Jonathan Donahue and Grasshopper, the group's one-of-a-kind mix of shoegaze, noise pop, psychedelic, and experimental music birthed 1991's Yerself Is Steam and 1993's Boces, which foreshadowed their ambitions later in the decade. As their lineup changed, their musical horizons broadened; on 1995's See You on the Other Side, they added adventurous free jazz excursions and lullaby-like melodies with striking results. Though Mercury Rev were critically acclaimed from the start, they didn't achieve commercial success until 1998's breakthrough Deserter's Songs, which combined intimate songwriting with a fresh take on Americana. They continued to evolve with 2008's electronic Snowflake Midnight, paid homage to one of the great underappreciated albums with 2019's Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited, and revisited their blend of heartfelt emotion and experimentation with 2024's Born Horses.