The Grouchy Gaijin's Thoughts on Music and Such

The Merciful Hour emailed me a while back asking if I could review their EP.  You can hear their EP at their My Space page.
These guys are a two piece band out of Dublin, Ireland.  I don't know what the name of the band means.

They list the band members as Guitars/Synths/Lead Vocals : Tom Doyle  and Keyboards/Synths/Backing Vocals : Dermot O'Neill
They list their Influences as Arcade Fire, The Cure, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Radiohead, Brian Eno

So what kind of music does The Merciful Hour make?  Pretty music.  They play well and his voice sounds good - it is pleasant. My 83 year old mother would love it.

The Run Down:

Track 1:  Wrong Side of Town - probably the best song of the four on the EP.  It reminds me of Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros.  Its a good song that tells a story and kept my attention.  His voice sounds good and the music is nice, at times it reminds me of something from the John Lennon album Wonsaponatime.

Track 2: Underneath the Surface - this song has U2 all over it.  I like the drummer's (drum machine?) work on this track.  The drums and guitar keep my interest.  Its a very pretty song.  The only downside is that like a lot of U2's music in later years, while its pleasant to listen to if its on the radio I wouldn't buy it or put it at the top of a play list.  That's just me, U2 has done very well over the years and a lot of people do buy their music.

Track 3: I Will Go - The Merciful Hour does make very pretty music.  My mom would love this stuff.  Personally its a bit too mellow, and falls under what I think of as EMO, for me.  It is a treasure trove of sensitivity and heartfelt emotion. Is that an Air Supply vibe I hear?

Track 4: The Waiting Game -  Hold on to what you've got.  It won't come again. Another song about love and dreaming about his girl.  This is one sad dude.  I'm afraid that this song is a skip - maybe if I were trying to impress a girl I could play this with a straight face.  I'm not their target demographic.  I'm sure everyone in the audience is swaying back and forth with lighters held high - but it just doesn't hit me.

So what is the bottom line?  On the Grouch scale they get 2 scowls out of 5.

They play well.  The music is pretty and I like Wrong Side of Town and parts of Underneath the Surface. I think my dentist would dig this a lot.

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