All the Suits Began to Fall Off

While the band plans to record its third full length later this year, they found time to stop by Chase Park Transduction and record a 5 song/30 minute EP, again with Andy Baker (Macha, Causey Way, and The Glands). Since the addition of Whit Travisano as the full time 4th member in early 2000, and with several months of national touring under their belt, the Mercury Program are now fully realized as a quartet. The songs on this EP reflect the band's comfort as a 4 piece, and are musically more textured than the works on previous releases. Tom Reno's guitars are loopy and sprawling while Sander Travisano's bass lines ground the band somewhere in the country between rock, blues and jazz. Vibes and keys take a prominent role and there is the first time addition of cello into a Mercury Program song. Unlike the previous recordings, this EP doesn't include any of the sparse bits of vocals, instead these 5 songs are completely instrumental. Whiles some songs pass the 8 minute mark, there is never a dull moment and the vocals are never missed. Look for constant touring and recording to keep The Mercury Program busy for the remainder of 2001. As CMJ states, "The Florida quartet avoids the blatant idol-worshipping and overbearing emo-leanings of many of its peers, instead choosing to define itself as a serious, but never pretentious mood rock ensemble."