Hey Mercedes

Hey Mercedes: UnorchestratedUnorchestrated (2005)
Grand Theft Autumn

Reviewer Rating: 4.5

User Rating:

Contributed by: JesseJesse
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on May 10th 2005This EP is officially being released posthumously, I guess. It's five songs, with some apparently intended for Loses Control, and others written after the album. And while there is lots of growth on the release as there is, I can't help but feel that original Hey Mercedes vibe that I got from Every.

This EP is officially being released posthumously, I guess. It's five songs, with some apparently intended for Loses Control, and others written after the album. And while there is lots of growth on the release as there is, I can't help but feel that original Hey Mercedes vibe that I got from Everynight Fire Works that seemed to be missing amid the slightly darker and harder sound of Loses Control.

The album starts out with a kick in the form of "Roulette Systems," which easily could be my new favorite Hey Mercedes track. It's fast, quick, witty, and features some kickass falsetto in the chorus. Yeah, I said it. Kickass falsetto. There is a little play with time signatures, but overall it sounds to me like a B-side from Everynight Fire Works.

The next three songs - "Warm Chords," "Own Up," and "We Lie Half The Time" - all have a very toe-tapping pop quality to them. "Warm Chords" features tons of drum fills from one the most talented drummers in music today. Also, lots of fun bass slides. "Own Up" makes me bob my head like a Beatle. "We Lie Half The Time" is my favorite of these three tracks, with awesome uptempo guitar melodies.

The EP closes with "Unorchestrated," a live track (also the title track). If you don't know, this song features a monologue from "Wake The Dead." It's really a damn powerful monologue, and the integration with this slower song is flawless. The song feels in the same vein as "Qué Shiraz" or "Haven't Been This Happy," building from bass and drums to the full band. Again, another song that feels like a B-side from Everynight Fire Works. But perhaps the most powerful part of the CD is the repeated line, "It's over," especially at the end of the song when it's sung low and quiet. And it's true, it is over. It's been a blast.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

Anonymous (May 16, 2005)

unseen rock, dkm blows! hey mercedes breaking up is like seinfeld leaving TV...

im-dead (May 13, 2005)

woops, i thought i gave the turbonegro album 4 stars

Anonymous (May 12, 2005)

I thought you were...but at the same time I wasnt sure if you was being a sarcastic bastard. You can never tell anymore.

oh well.

good review. good band. but i like F-Minus better.

-!GreenVandal!

Jesse (May 12, 2005)

I know. That was serious. I wasn't being facetious.

Anonymous (May 11, 2005)

Actually....F-Minus IS killer. I love that band.

-!GreenVandal!

ElVaquero (May 11, 2005)

OK, feel free to run my review of the Snuff greatest hits/b-sides collection:

6 stars
"Are you fucking kidding me? You don't own this? Fucking dumbass.."

Bam.

Jesse (May 11, 2005)

Dude…F-Minus is killer.

inagreendase (May 10, 2005)

Hah, oops. I just figured, you know, in my stupidity, that someone at Punknews would have gotten an album to review.....it being Punknews and all...maybe I will.

Well, considering the Unseen is the only band on Hellcat I like, I would certainly love to review it (*coughcough*) if it got sent to me instead of DKM promos I mindlessly forward to Kirby.

TJmoney (May 10, 2005)

hey mercedes...more like....bye mercedes HAHAH!! actually I've never listened to the band so I guess it sucks for their fans that theyre callin it a day

what good is having wayne gretzky as your coach when there arent gonna be games for him to coach in?

Jesse (May 10, 2005)

I know there is a big difference. That's why I separated them in my review. Although Loses Control is highly underrated.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

Jesse, theres a BIG difference between labeling songs Loses Control b sides vs. Everynight Fireworks b sides.

Loses Control was a big pile of shit....Everynight Fireworks was brilliant.

Jesse (May 10, 2005)

Just found this on the City On Film blog:

http://www.heymercedes.com/cityonfilm.html

Bob does a better job of explaining the album than I could have ever done.

Jesse (May 10, 2005)

The label was created by Bob and Todd way back when to release Braid stuff. And in response to this:

score is for reviewers who check back every day to see what people have said about their reviews and then defend themselves.

grow some balls and have some confidence in your opinions and writings, jesse!

I don't check everyday, I check multiple times a day. I'm an internet geek, tried and true. I don't check back so I can defend myself; I check back to answer questions, and provide useful information. Of course, no one asks real questions, so all I end up doing is arguing viciously until I make fun of the person arguing with me for getting so into an internet battle that we become friends. Honestly. It's happened with BSD and Anchors. And others.

Oh wait, I forgot this was Punknews. What I really meant to say was:

go suk ad ick you homofagopolis! Ur soooo gay an du don't Even Knoe it!!!1

corpseofmymotivation (May 10, 2005)

Score's for Wayne Gretzky taking the job as the head coach of the Coyotes.
Wow, awesome.

Marlon (May 10, 2005)

I've never heard of the label this is on. Ever. What kind of distrobution do they get, because I'm interested in picking this up.

This label is run by the Hey Mercedes bass player Todd Bell. They don't get that great of distrobution if you want the CD you'll have to order it from their site.

ZDP (May 10, 2005)

I've never heard of the label this is on. Ever. What kind of distrobution do they get, because I'm interested in picking this up.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

"To the anonymous kid below commenting about staffers replying to criticisms and checking daily:

Most of us are college students, which translates to we have a lot of fucking free time. And I'm sure we all have broadband internet too, so checking and responding to comments isn't as much an effort as your making it seem.

And I'm also sure we can all handle criticism, but it can end up in some pretty good discussions sometimes, unless we never reply to anything like you obviously want."

i'm not a 'kid'. i'm probably older than you, in fact.
and yes, please put the review up and let everyone shit-talk it without the reviewer's comments/defenses.

that way, if anyone thinks they could do a better job, they can submit their own review!

Jesse (May 10, 2005)

Probably, probably, and yes.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

is it the same 'roulette systems' from the vagrant comp? and isn't 'warm chords' on itunes? and also doesn't bob use that same 'waking the dead' clip on 'lost my lights?'

elvisdechico (May 10, 2005)

the movie is "waking the dead" (not "wake") and it's pretty decent... go watch it now!

CellarDoor (May 10, 2005)

Nice review, I've always enjoyed the poppy sound of Hey Mercedes.

Score's for Wayne Gretzky taking the job as the head coach of the Coyotes.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

Score's for Tim Burton.

Nietzsche (May 10, 2005)

I MUST get my hands on this.

Anchors (May 10, 2005)

To the anonymous kid below commenting about staffers replying to criticisms and checking daily:

Most of us are college students, which translates to we have a lot of fucking free time. And I'm sure we all have broadband internet too, so checking and responding to comments isn't as much an effort as your making it seem.

And I'm also sure we can all handle criticism, but it can end up in some pretty good discussions sometimes, unless we never reply to anything like you obviously want.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

I miss these guys already

Jesse (May 10, 2005)

all of the songs were loses control b-sides, not everynight fire works b-sides.

No shit! Really? I figured they just saved two songs for about four years. Or maybe you should actually try reading my review, where I stated that all the songs were either Loses Control B-sides or written after that album.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

Maybe someone should write it first, so we, you know, actually have one to post.

Hah, oops. I just figured, you know, in my stupidity, that someone at Punknews would have gotten an album to review.....it being Punknews and all...maybe I will.

-glad im not emo

cubaricho (May 10, 2005)

all of the songs were loses control b-sides, not everynight fire works b-sides.

inagreendase (May 10, 2005)

Hey, the Unseen review shouldn't be held back to Friday...jerks.

Maybe someone should write it first, so we, you know, actually have one to post.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

Hey, the Unseen review shouldn't be held back to Friday...jerks.

- glad im not emo

inagreendase (May 10, 2005)

I get that same "obvious B-side" feel for the second track - you can really tell it came straight from the Loses Control sessions. It's also ridiculously catchy.

Despite the understandably inconsistent production/mixing sound on this, it's quite good.

Damnit, when are my turbonegro and snuff reviews gonna be posted?

Maybe soon. We're just always hesitant on posting 10-scored reviews, if just for your sake in the likely ensuing comments.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

score is for reviewers who check back every day to see what people have said about their reviews and then defend themselves.

grow some balls and have some confidence in your opinions and writings, jesse!

corpseofmymotivation (May 10, 2005)

What do these guys sound like?

boba_fett (May 10, 2005)

hey mercedes was really good and it's too bad they broke up. that's all i've got.

Fuzzy (May 10, 2005)

I think this review can put the Jesse haters to rest. You could actually feel the melancholy in it. Good job.

im-dead (May 10, 2005)

Damnit, when are my turbonegro and snuff reviews gonna be posted?

swingline (May 10, 2005)

boring

Jesse (May 10, 2005)

Their last show occurred around the same time as their last EP. If it was any sort of band that you loved that was breaking out and releasing their last EP, I'm sure you would have wanted the reviews. By the way, the reviews were actually 3 weeks apart.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

score is for the bob nanna comment below.

made me shit my pants.

Anonymous (May 10, 2005)

wow, ANOTHER hey mercedes review! shocking!
is bob nanna paying for the bandwidth on this site?

maverick (May 10, 2005)

Worth it just for "Roulette Systems," the best song in this band's catalog. This score's for that song.

-Scott