The Mercury Tree: Difference between revisions

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It became a full band in 2006, with a lineup featuring James Crutcher on bass, Avery Cooper on guitar, Mike Byrne on drums, and Spees handling vocals, keyboard, and guitar. This iteration of the band released a self-titled LP in 2007, followed by the ''Eerie EP'' and ''Eerie B-sides'' in 2009. In 2010, the band released the ''Descent EP'', which introduced Liz Kuhn on flute and djembe and made Alan Johnson the bassist.<ref>[https://themercurytree.bandcamp.com/album/descent-ep Lineup of members on Descent EP (2010)]</ref>

~~Ben~~ renewed The Mercury Tree in 2011 with Alan Johnson becoming the new official bassist of the band and Connor Reilly being the drummer, releasing their first studio album, ''Pterodactyls''. By 2012, during the production of ''Freeze in Phantom Form'', the lineup changed again with Aaron Clark taking over as bassist and contributing vocals. In subsequent years, The Mercury Tree collaborated with Red Forman on the ''Family Style EP'', and in 2014, Oliver Campbell joined as bassist and backing vocalist for the ''Countenance'' LP, whose involvement stemmed from a recommendation by Aaron Clark, who was retiring from the band<ref name=":0">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdlMzkZRVVg Ben Spees interviewed on a Make Weird Music livestream about the Self Similar LP]</ref>.

Spees renewed The Mercury Tree in 2011 with Alan Johnson becoming the new official bassist of the band and Connor Reilly being the drummer, releasing their first studio album, ''Pterodactyls''. By 2012, during the production of ''Freeze in Phantom Form'', the lineup changed again with Aaron Clark taking over as bassist and contributing vocals. In subsequent years, The Mercury Tree collaborated with Red Forman on the ''Family Style EP'', and in 2014, Oliver Campbell joined as bassist and backing vocalist for the ''Countenance'' LP, whose involvement stemmed from a recommendation by Aaron Clark, who was retiring from the band<ref name=":0">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdlMzkZRVVg Ben Spees interviewed on a Make Weird Music livestream about the Self Similar LP]</ref>.

The 2016 release ''Permutations'' featured the core lineup of Ben Spees (vocals, keyboard, guitar), Connor Reilly (drums), and Oliver Campbell (bass, vocals). Guest contributors included Tony Mowe (saxophone on "Ether/Ore" and "Sympathesizer") and Aaron Clark (guitar on "Sympathesizer" and "Deep Five").

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In 2017, avant-prog band ''Nick Prol and the Proletarians'', led by Nick Prol, debuted with its album ''Loon Attic''<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15kDod8jaM/ The Mercury Tree announcing the Nick Prol and the Proletarians band on Facebook]</ref>''.'' This band branched off of The Mercury Tree, as Ben Spees and Connor Reilly are official members, while Connor is present in many of the songs. This band's 2020 album, ''An Erstwisle Alphabestiary: Book One'' showcases musicians such as [[Jack Tickner]], Jerry King, Mohadev and Dave Newhouse.

''[[Ventifacts]]'', microtonal folk songwriting duo between Ben Spees and [[Damon Waitkus]] from ''Jack O' The Clock,'' featuring Connor Reilly as the drummer and Oliver Campbell as the bassist who made his appearance on the tracks "Groaning Under the Evidence" and "Dog Day Music''"'', as well as Emily Packard playing the violin and viola, debuted with a self-titled full-length album in September. That album was followed by the ''Chronic Town'' EP from 2022, which featured all 3 members of the band and ~~Daimon~~ himself.<ref>https://ventifacts.bandcamp.com/</ref>

''[[Ventifacts]]'', microtonal folk songwriting duo between Ben Spees and [[Damon Waitkus]] from ''Jack O' The Clock,'' featuring Connor Reilly as the drummer and Oliver Campbell as the bassist who made his appearance on the tracks "Groaning Under the Evidence" and "Dog Day Music''"'', as well as Emily Packard playing the violin and viola, debuted with a self-titled full-length album in September. That album was followed by the ''Chronic Town'' EP from 2022, which featured all 3 members of the band and Waitkus himself.<ref>https://ventifacts.bandcamp.com/</ref>

==Musical style==

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With the release of the ''Countenance'' LP, Ben Spees made use of microtonality for the first time, making use of quartertones on the second song, "Vestigial"<ref name=":0" />. This LP had elements of jazz in songs like "Mazz Jathy" and "Jazz Hands of Doom". "False Meaning" introduced and made use of quartal harmony, and along with "Pitchless Tone", "Vestigial", "Otoliths", "To Serve Man" and "Artifacture" featured screams, having a heavier tone. The keyboard timbre found in their earlier stuff was no longer present from then on. Working in a trio, Spees heavily relied on the usage of looping pedals to replicate layered sounds which he was interested in. Spees commented the following: "''This was another step deeper into complexity, with even more layering, and improved production. This was also the introduction of Oliver contributing vocals – he has a very distinctive voice and the ability to produce a wide range of textures. On this album, Connor also started to make more use of space in his drum parts; while still intense, they were a bit more judicious compared to the more shreddy/busy parts featured on Freeze.''"<ref name=":2" />

"Vesuvius" was a song originally written for ''Countenance'', but it was ultimately removed from the final production.

"Vesuvius" was a song originally written for ''Countenance'', but it was ultimately removed from the final production.<ref>https://aaronclark.bandcamp.com/album/vesuvius</ref>

The band showcased its most progressive release which wasn't exclusively microtonal in their album ''Permutations.'' The members were inspired by more avant-prog bands, as they were aiming for a weirder sound,<ref name=":1" /> by utilizing stranger [[Scale|scales]], time signatures and more advanced polyrhythms<ref name=":2" />. The musical evolution is most evident in "Exhume the Worst" and "Placeholder" which utilize the heavier aspect of Countenance, while displaying jazz-influenced harmony, especially in the latter. This release also contains the first fully microtonal Mercury Tree song, "Ether/Ore" which is in the [[Carlos Alpha|carlos alpha]] tuning, alongside prominent microtonality on "Symptoms" and "Permutations". This album represents a cornerstone for their rhythmic experimentation, with "Unintelligible" being a prime example.

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 It became a full band in 2006, with a lineup featuring James Crutcher on bass, Avery Cooper on guitar, Mike Byrne on drums, and Spees handling vocals, keyboard, and guitar. This iteration of the band released a self-titled LP in 2007, followed by the ''Eerie EP'' and ''Eerie B-sides'' in 2009. In 2010, the band released the ''Descent EP'', which introduced Liz Kuhn on flute and djembe and made Alan Johnson the bassist.<ref>[https://themercurytree.bandcamp.com/album/descent-ep Lineup of members on Descent EP (2010)]</ref>
-Ben renewed The Mercury Tree in 2011 with Alan Johnson becoming the new official bassist of the band and Connor Reilly being the drummer, releasing their first studio album, ''Pterodactyls''. By 2012, during the production of ''Freeze in Phantom Form'', the lineup changed again with Aaron Clark taking over as bassist and contributing vocals. In subsequent years, The Mercury Tree collaborated with Red Forman on the ''Family Style EP'', and in 2014, Oliver Campbell joined as bassist and backing vocalist for the ''Countenance'' LP, whose involvement stemmed from a recommendation by Aaron Clark, who was retiring from the band<ref name=":0">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdlMzkZRVVg Ben Spees interviewed on a Make Weird Music livestream about the Self Similar LP]</ref>.
+Spees renewed The Mercury Tree in 2011 with Alan Johnson becoming the new official bassist of the band and Connor Reilly being the drummer, releasing their first studio album, ''Pterodactyls''. By 2012, during the production of ''Freeze in Phantom Form'', the lineup changed again with Aaron Clark taking over as bassist and contributing vocals. In subsequent years, The Mercury Tree collaborated with Red Forman on the ''Family Style EP'', and in 2014, Oliver Campbell joined as bassist and backing vocalist for the ''Countenance'' LP, whose involvement stemmed from a recommendation by Aaron Clark, who was retiring from the band<ref name=":0">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdlMzkZRVVg Ben Spees interviewed on a Make Weird Music livestream about the Self Similar LP]</ref>.
 The 2016 release ''Permutations'' featured the core lineup of Ben Spees (vocals, keyboard, guitar), Connor Reilly (drums), and Oliver Campbell (bass, vocals). Guest contributors included Tony Mowe (saxophone on "Ether/Ore" and "Sympathesizer") and Aaron Clark (guitar on "Sympathesizer" and "Deep Five").
@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 In 2017, avant-prog band ''Nick Prol and the Proletarians'', led by Nick Prol, debuted with its album ''Loon Attic''<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15kDod8jaM/ The Mercury Tree announcing the Nick Prol and the Proletarians band on Facebook]</ref>''.'' This band branched off of The Mercury Tree, as Ben Spees and Connor Reilly are official members, while Connor is present in many of the songs. This band's 2020 album, ''An Erstwisle Alphabestiary: Book One'' showcases musicians such as [[Jack Tickner]], Jerry King, Mohadev and Dave Newhouse.
-''[[Ventifacts]]'', microtonal folk songwriting duo between Ben Spees and [[Damon Waitkus]] from ''Jack O' The Clock,'' featuring Connor Reilly as the drummer and Oliver Campbell as the bassist who made his appearance on the tracks "Groaning Under the Evidence" and "Dog Day Music''"'', as well as Emily Packard playing the violin and viola, debuted with a self-titled full-length album in September. That album was followed by the ''Chronic Town'' EP from 2022, which featured all 3 members of the band and Daimon himself.<ref>https://ventifacts.bandcamp.com/</ref>
+''[[Ventifacts]]'', microtonal folk songwriting duo between Ben Spees and [[Damon Waitkus]] from ''Jack O' The Clock,'' featuring Connor Reilly as the drummer and Oliver Campbell as the bassist who made his appearance on the tracks "Groaning Under the Evidence" and "Dog Day Music''"'', as well as Emily Packard playing the violin and viola, debuted with a self-titled full-length album in September. That album was followed by the ''Chronic Town'' EP from 2022, which featured all 3 members of the band and Waitkus himself.<ref>https://ventifacts.bandcamp.com/</ref>
 ==Musical style==
@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 With the release of the ''Countenance'' LP, Ben Spees made use of microtonality for the first time, making use of quartertones on the second song, "Vestigial"<ref name=":0" />. This LP had elements of jazz in songs like "Mazz Jathy" and "Jazz Hands of Doom". "False Meaning" introduced and made use of quartal harmony, and along with "Pitchless Tone", "Vestigial", "Otoliths", "To Serve Man" and "Artifacture" featured screams, having a heavier tone. The keyboard timbre found in their earlier stuff was no longer present from then on. Working in a trio, Spees heavily relied on the usage of looping pedals to replicate layered sounds which he was interested in. Spees commented the following: "''This was another step deeper into complexity, with even more layering, and improved production. This was also the introduction of Oliver contributing vocals – he has a very distinctive voice and the ability to produce a wide range of textures. On this album, Connor also started to make more use of space in his drum parts; while still intense, they were a bit more judicious compared to the more shreddy/busy parts featured on Freeze.''"<ref name=":2" />
-"Vesuvius" was a song originally written for ''Countenance'', but it was ultimately removed from the final production.
+"Vesuvius" was a song originally written for ''Countenance'', but it was ultimately removed from the final production.<ref>https://aaronclark.bandcamp.com/album/vesuvius</ref>
 The band showcased its most progressive release which wasn't exclusively microtonal in their album ''Permutations.'' The members were inspired by more avant-prog bands, as they were aiming for a weirder sound,<ref name=":1" /> by utilizing stranger [[Scale|scales]], time signatures and more advanced polyrhythms<ref name=":2" />. The musical evolution is most evident in "Exhume the Worst" and "Placeholder" which utilize the heavier aspect of Countenance, while displaying jazz-influenced harmony, especially in the latter. This release also contains the first fully microtonal Mercury Tree song, "Ether/Ore" which is in the [[Carlos Alpha|carlos alpha]] tuning, alongside prominent microtonality on "Symptoms" and "Permutations". This album represents a cornerstone for their rhythmic experimentation, with "Unintelligible" being a prime example.