A couple of months back I was here musing about Mercury Machine’s last single, Second Life. In that article I concluded, “If there is one worry with Second Life, it is that they may have finally found their peak. We wait eagerly until their next release to see if they can in fact top this again”.
Well, the band has challenged us for our thoughts on if they have managed to step up and do that with this brand new single, Ultrasound. Here’s what I think…
Ultrasound begins with such a magnificently large sound that it simply hooks you from the off. The nostalgia-inducing keys feel otherworldly as they ring out, giving it a brilliantly mystic aura. It follows on from their previous work in style, once again relying on that real DIY vibe their music encapsulates.
There is always more meaning hidden within their track than you may expect at first listen. They pour emotion into their sound, but with this, they have taken it to a whole new level.
A deeply personal track, especially for lead singer Lee, this is a track penned about his fiancée’s battle with cancer and everything that came with it. As if that wasn’t enough, the voice of his fiancée, Cat, also features. The track was written and developed over a period of time while this was also going on, and the feelings that must have been provoked have been channeled into this piece of music so beautifully.
The context of the song sometimes feels at odds with the glamorous sparkles of synth with define their sound, and this is what makes it such a unique and touching piece of music. After all, that is the real beauty of music; how it lends itself for us to find solace within it, as the music has done here.
In response to their question that sparked this review, I think they have managed to top anything they have done previously, by some distance. This is what a track should be. It’s some sort of window into the artist’s emotion, all mixed in with some brilliant chords to make it beautiful once again. A stellar effort lads.
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