Having long ago jettisoned the brilliant unpredictability that marked their earlier albums, Mercury Rev’s career arc has been the victim of diminishing returns since 1998’s Deserter’s Songs. The Light in You, their first in seven years, starts in familiar fashion, Jonathan Donahue’s fragile vocals swaddled in lushly tinkling and twinkling sleigh bells, the delicate songs quickly exposing the thin line between pretty and cloying. However, salvation arrives with the euphoric chorus of Are You Ready?, swiftly followed by Sunflower’s easygoing pop charms. They save the best until last: the joyous Rainy Day Record captures the excitement of listening to a new record for the first time, features irrepressible horns and Donahue sort-of-rapping and suggests there’s life in the old dogs yet.
