Drinking Mercury

Biography

Since its initial June 2000 establishment in the small Michigan town of Ionia, Drinking Mercury has shifted its focus from noise rock to indie folk to psychedelia to baroque pop and back, much as they have shifted their base of operations to Kalamazoo and Lansing to Grand Rapids and Ionia and back. The longevity and overall identity of the band lies within the lifelong friendships of its members, a group of native Michiganders that grew up learning their instruments together and continue to collaborate for the sheer joy of performing and creating music. The pedigree of Michigan bands that has featured the members of Drinking Mercury – guitarists Michael Boyes and Tommy McCord, drummer Kevin Adams, and bassist/keyboardist Timmy Rodriguez – runs the gamut of punk and indie rock (The Plurals, The Hunky Newcomers, Sleeping Timmy, Josh David and the Dream Jeans, The Break-Ups) to marching band instruction to a George Harrison tribute band, but everyone always circles back to Drinking Mercury. Following up their 2011 debut full-length Orcades and a split LP with The Sexy Murders (featuring members of Michigan space rock legends Calliope), Drinking Mercury issued a new, self-titled full-length and a split with The Soods in 2019, showcasing their dreamiest and most infectious music to date.

Audio

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Press:
“Delving into the delectable rock amid the nooks and crannies of this self-titled release by Drinking Mercury is like finding some hidden classic from decades past – a collector’s item squirreled away in a dusty record bin. But this is actually bewitching new stuff from this band hailing from Lansing, Ionia and Grand Rapids, and as such, it deserves to go straight to the top of your Michigan playlist. It’s enthralling from start to finish, 12 tracks packed with so much wondrous indie-rock – from the punchy to the dreamy to the folky – that it’s hard to wrap your fingers and ears around all of it as you explore it track by surprising track.” – Local Spins review of Drinking Mercury

“It’s a wonderful album, slightly nostalgic, each track following a different path through the midwestern woods. [It] floats in the echo chamber shared by the studios that captured 60’s psychedelia and 80’s pop, the gaps between the acoustic tiles filled by a synthesizer lifted from the intervening decade. A jangly guitar break nods to a visitor passing down the hallway on a trip from Laurel Canyon.” – Reverb Raccoon review of Drinking Mercury

“Well crafted pop with psychedelic meltdowns… superb [and] genre-bending.” – City Pulse

“It only takes one swig of Drinking Mercury’s new self-titled album to feel warm and dreamy on an overcast November day. The Lansing indie rock quartet’s newest album functions as a sonic potion drenching listeners in soothing waves of vibrant folk-influenced dream pop. Soaring vocal harmonies intertwined with slow, thumping drumbeats, driving basslines and gentle acoustic and electric guitars abound on the band’s striking follow-up to 2011’s alt-folk debut, “Orcades.” It recalls everything from The National to Fleet Foxes to Tom Petty to Beck.” – The Stratton Setlist

Discography:

Drinking Mercury full-length LP/CD (GTG), released 11/2019
Drinking Mercury / The Soods Split/CD (GTG), released 9/2019
The Sexy Murders / Drinking Mercury (GTG) Split LP, released 2/2018
Orcades (GTG) full-length CD, released 9/2011
Words (GTG) EP/CD, released 1/2011
Way (GTG) EP/CD, released 5/2006
The Virgin EP self-released debut EP/CD, released 1/2004

Compilations:
Bermuda Snohawk 2019 (BMP/GTG) features exclusive cover of “Pretty Boy Floyd” by Woody Guthrie
No F​%​@​king Egos, This Is Lansing. Volume 5: Capital Ruins (Silver Maple Kill) features alternate version of “Stay Home”
Another One Of Those Equinoxes, Vol. 3 features exclusive version of “Hypocrite Collector”
GTG100 (GTG) features exclusive version of “Peach”
He Just Wrote Them Like That (GTG) features cover of “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison
It’s Fine. (GTG) features demo version of “Delightfully Lonely”
3-Way Singles Club Volume 12 (ITAV) features exclusive song “Green Eyes”
Secret Identities: Lansing Covers Lansing (GTG/ LMTV) features cover of “Did You Get What You Came For?” by Calliope
No F​@​%​king Egos​:​This Is Lansing! Volume 2​:​Electric Boogaloo features exclusive song “Ladder”
Bermuda Snowhawk 2011 (BMP/ GTG) features exclusive cover of “Blue Christmas”
Explosions: Lansing Salutes Devo (GTG) features cover of “Beautiful World” by Devo
Situations at Hand (GTG) features early (2007) version of “Flows”