Give it up for the old-fashioned song. The digital age has increased our diet of electronically-produced beats and more forms of noise than we can shake an iPod at. For singer/songwriter Jeff Merchant to come along, and provide something so organic and clean, like the waterfall allusion the song makes mention of, is refreshing. His latest album, City Makes No Sound, is filled with this sort of melodic break from the chaos. It’s an album with a sort of David Gray-like emotive honesty that isn’t always easy to find in an industry of dime-a-dozen performers. “Seeing Waterfalls” is our song of the day, enjoy.
It starts with the artwork which is where all great records (used to) start remark the colors the light the exact LA light the cacti graffiti light and the hazy sun kissed underwaterness of a beachy silverlake afternoon and the view of downtown LA and the way the light alights upon the artist’s hair the album art starts by taking you there and tells you this is a classic LA record at once choked by mystic orange purple smog and beautifully breathing Jeff Merchant has made a record that would have changed his life had he heard it when he was 17 (which is the real reason why you do this, right?: to make records that would have changed your life?)…but they weren’t making records like this when he was 17 and it is also a quintessentially LA record cuz it sounds like the floating blue bus of time’s humid glowing lazy rhythms flowing from the desert to the sea this record took it’s time to be and time to create cuz that’s the one thing besides great Mexican food and sun-baked depression that LA always seemed to have more than enough of: Time and this epic 72 degree dream of an album has that baroque siesta “let’s take our time and do this righteously wrong” background vocal orgy psychedelic kitchen stink party kind of vibe where you can hear all the long hot days and freeways it took to make and when I spy the list of luminaries on this long player I can see all of them making their easy and uneasy ways along the 10 and the 101 and the 405 on their windows rolled down way to the session with all manner of weirdness strewn about the floor of the passenger side of their cars this record puts me somewhere I know well and its really more like an artful, sonic psychedelic documentary than anything else so tune in to radio jeff merchant and visit an LA that he both created and inhabits cuz there’s no differentiating between the city (which makes no sound) and the inside of his head (which does) and the song-music water-falling out of the headphones and though I promised myself I would not dance on the slippery slope of commenting on “standout tracks” because this is a good old fashioned record in that its beauty is in it’s wholeness, however, “eggshell” knocked me out but so did the whole record I mean it’s Merchant’s LA we just get stuck in traffic in it and hopefully with a copy of this cd in the changer. I cannot possibly list all the incredible lyrics in here not to mention the LA references which are a total joy to pick around for. Michael Rozon deserves more than a mention for his above and beyond the call of duty co-producerial and co-arranging flights of genius…
I could say a lot more but YOU NEED THIS RECORD should really be enough.
To conclude, it's time for Jeff Merchant to present us with his second solo album, "City Makes No Sound." Merchant specialises in large scale orchestrated pop/rock, merging strings and massed voices with more modern sounds, not to mention the production skills of musical partner Michael Rozon. This hour long, fifteen track spectacular brings to mind works by Brian Wilson, The High Llamas and Midlake - and there are even hints of Steely Dan too. Opening with strings and sumptuous voices beneath Merchant's Donovanesque voice, the melodies are strong, the sound rich. Taking as its theme stories from a city (not defined, but I'm guessing LA), the first clutch of tracks hint at Wilson territory, whilst remaining original and captivating. The mood changes a little at "Joyride" with its melancholy sound and wistful piano, while "Love Yourself Away" has a particularly good tune and a great 'sixties vibe - a single for sure! "Where's Phillip" is a waltztime stunner with glorious female vocals, "Disturbance Call" is lyrically dark, while "Children Of Light" has a light Americana feel. There are hints of Scritti Politti's Green Gartside in the vocal style of the latter tracks, especially "Na-Na 99c Store". Album closer "The End Song" wraps it all up with frogs, softly strummed acoustic guitar and a half whispered vocal. An outstanding album, and one for repeated listening. Very highly recommended. - (Stephen Palmer)
A rather remarkable album from a rather remarkable young musician. Los Angeles, California's Jeff
Merchant makes music that sounds nothing like what you might expect from a Los Angeles-based artist.
City Makes No Sound offers a lot to take in. Over the course of approximately an hour, Merchant presents
fifteen tracks. His songs are smooth and pensive...free-flowing and hypnotic...substantial and
thought- provoking. And man oh man, what a voice. Jeff has a super smooth voice and he never pushes
himself beyond what each individual track calls for. From the sound quality of this disc you would never
know this is an independently released CD. The sound quality is super smooth and resilient. Lots of
folks were involved in the recording of this album. It features no less than 23 (!?!) guest vocalists and/or
musicians. But rather than being a messy overproduction (which can easily happen when you involve so
many people), these songs come across sounding surprisingly open and clean. You can expect to hear a
lot about Jeff Merchant in the coming years.Wonderfully reflective tunes include "SeeingWaterfalls,"
"Where's Phillip," "Eggshell," and "The End Song." Recommended. (Rating out of 6: 5++)
In a continuation of his first album, Window Rolled Down, Jeff Merchant presents another series of
reflections on life in Los Angeles in the present day in your thirties on City Makes No Sound. Again,
the arrangements are dream pop soundscapes, set at loping tempos, with an aural sheen to go with
Merchant's innocent-sounding tenor as he celebrates the joys of the 99-cent store, but realizes that
the fabric of existence is fragile and, perhaps, frayed. Friends have fallen by the wayside already, as
the media brays, "Tell us how you feel" (the chorus of "Disturbance Call"). Merchant is heavily influenced
by Brian Wilson, not only in his shimmery musical conception, but also in the apparently childlike
-- but also somewhat depressed -- nature of his outlook. If there is a development from his first
album to this one, it's that he's not quite as sure of the value of opening himself to experience. Even
if you have your window rolled down as you sit stuck in traffic on an L.A. freeway, this time the city itself
is closed off from you, and by the end of an hourlong set of encounters, Merchant (who also has
a band called the Lullabies) is singing "The End Song," beginning, "Close your eyes so we don't have
to listen/Shut them tight so we don't have to hear."
I really enjoyed Jeff Merchants debut album, "Window Rolled Down", so was pleased to see that he's found time in his busy schedule to put another one out.
A lot of the songs are of the lush, orchestrated variety, the kind of thing that people rarely go to the bother of making anymore. But where are the Electric Light Orchestra and Jellyfish fans supposed to go for their jollies?
I mean, there aren't that many violas in popular music anymore.
It's proper, grown-up pop music that never falls into the tepid, faux-rock trap that so many musicians fall into once they reach a certain level of maturity. Which is why followers of the Finn Brothers may find some solace in songs like 'A Friend Of Mine'. Beach Boys fans should head for 'Love Yourself' and lovers of dark, gothic pop should be making an urgent dash for 'Crazy Ship'.
Imagine crystalline water flowing down a rocky waterfall surrounded by lush greenery on a blue-skied
summer's day. Pretty, isn't it? So is Jeff Merchant's music.
Merchant's sound is a mix of the Decemberists and Death Cab for Cutie after they've been listening to a lot
of latter day Beatles. It's orchestral indie-pop. It's pretty. It's uplifting. It's beautifully layered and dense,
without detracting from its simple elegance.
When he sings "I hope it all works out for you," on "Friend of Mine," it sounds sincere rather than trite.
He's a sensitive guy without being so sensitive that you want to slap him upside the head; the exception
being "Na-Na 99 Cent Store," in which walking into such a store becomes somewhat of a religious
experience for him.
And he can also write a good melody. "Love Yourself Away," while rich with organs, guitars and
background vocalist, has a great poppy, easy-beat feel to it. And there are other songs that are just as catchy.
The 412 blog (formerly known as The Shlog) at ShowClix.com:
"Baroque-pop with some nice moments."
Aiding & Abetting (A&A) aidabet.com:
"Gentle-hearted pop rock that runs through many sounds and shapes...this album is almost criminally listenable."
notlame.com: "An album of inspiration, texture and heartfelt spirit, City Makes No Sound is the soundtrack of great artistic impression and
articulation and one that fans of music that avoids the ..cookie cutter.. and true and tried template will find great rewards living inside of."
Here's what's been said about Jeff Merchant's music:
"entrancing, lush" - Boston Phoenix
"...catchy and will stay with you" - High Bias
"Merchant's a master when it comes to crafting lofty tunes with instant appeal" - entnews
"relaxing orchestral indie folk sound scapes" - Wiam Blogspot
"Merchant earns a place among those artists who keep musical expression, experimentalism, and artistry alive" - Music Spectrum
"...the lyrics are so brutally honest that it hurts - but at the same time the music soothes you so you can face the truth" - Who Needs Radio Blog
"Its not everyday you hear horse hooves in your gypsy pop" - Illinois Entertainer: spins, weekly
"A solid solo singer-songwriter" - Berkeley Place Blogspot
"a talented artist who works well in his realm" - Movement Magazine
"Decemberists-styled orchestrations and vocal work that resembles Death Cabs Ben Gibbard" - Birmingham Weekly's SOUND ADVICE
"...a chamber pop style that mixes acoustic guitar with warm classical instruments such as cello, French horn, and recorder on melodic, mid-tempo tunes
that he tops with his pleasant, ingenuous tenor...But lest things get too chummy and childlike, the lyrics have recurrent dark tones." - AMG/All Music Guide
"...dense, interesting, employing diverse instruments that actually keeps you interested...Merchant goes the distance, utilizing Upright Bass, Viola,
French Horn, Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Cello, Vibraphone, Sax, Flute and so on and so on. Merchant’s vocals provide a nice complement to the music.
His voice reminds me of Ben Gibbard from Death Cab, but that’s me...an artist that I played multiple times by choice" - The BM Rant
"His songs are amazingly complex with intrinsic orchestrations and beautiful vocal arrangements. The harmonies are catchy as are the song structures,
each of which is as unique as the last. This is multi-instrumental indie-pop that would fit Brian Wilson. Excellent eclectic folk pop" - Smother Magazine (Editors Pick)
"...he can conjure up a collection of dense, orchestrated, intricate 'pop' songs as compelling as these. By utilizing instruments not often heard in
mainstream popular music he's managed to take what were already good songs and turn them into very special ones...Telling tales that can be
universally understood, this is the kind of intelligent grown up music that gives musicians a good name. " - Zeitgeist Magazine