The Light In You—Mercury Rev’s 10th full-length and first in seven years—picks up where 2008’s Snowflake Midnight left off, with stalwart founders Jonathan Donahue and Grasshopper drawing inspiration from nature and the Rubik’s Cube of love in equal measure. There is a strong autumnal vibe about the affair—a modern Days Of Future Passed, complete with sweeping orchestral touches and wistful remembrances by the fistful. When the band’s “psychedelic rock and blue-eyed soul” finds its groove, it’s still a breathless wonder to behold. Mercury Rev will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read out MAGNET Classics feature on the band’s Yerself Is Steam.
Anthony Molina: This classic song came out in 1983. I was seven years old, and my mind was blown. At the time, I was taking saxophone lessons while beginning to mess around with Casio keyboards. The synthesizer had so many more sonic possibilities than any other instrument. When I saw the video, I was more than drawn to play I had to explore. I remember teaching myself how to play that catchy synth line on my Casio MT45 before opening it up to see what was inside. At the time I had no idea of Mr. Hancock‘s musical pedigree playing with Miles Davis in the ’60s or his time as lead Headhunter; all I knew was here was this guy in a video making his voice sound like a machine (likely the Roland SVC350 vocoder) dancing around with freaking mannequins. This song would go on to influence my writing and ongoing obsession with synthesizers in both its experimental and pop forms.
