Michael Mercer, Author at Positive Feedback

Mogwai, Young Team (Remastered)

Michael Mercer — Thu, 30 May 2024 18:34:21 +0000

Mogwai, Young Team (Remastered) We knew we were in for something shiny and new back in 1997 when Mogwai dropped Young Team. It wasn't because their sound was entirely new. Sonic Youth, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Yo La Tengo dropped their noise rock years before Team, but it wasn't until Mogwai hit the scene... Read More »

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Murals for Immersion

Michael Mercer — Wed, 22 May 2024 15:56:07 +0000

Kenneth James Gibson & Paul Carman, Murals for Immersion I'm not convinced that any words of mine could so aptly describe this record as its title manages to do: Murals for Immersion. And because of this, I feel morally obliged to perhaps break the online literary book of laws, and also begin this music review... Read More »

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Groundskeeping by Kenneth James Gibson

Michael Mercer — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 19:08:42 +0000

Groundskeeping, Kenneth James Gibson. Meadows Heavy Recorders Kenneth James Gibson is a true rarity. He's equally comfortable writing, arranging, recording & engineering (for other artists as well) and producing his own ambient and electronic music. He's a highly respected artist amongst his genres, peers and fans alike. His music has been featured in some of... Read More »

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Adele, 30

Michael Mercer — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 18:16:31 +0000

Adele, 30 Bravery Through Vulnerability Adele's a global superstar. The anticipation for new releases from the reclusive singer/songwriter is always a palpable worldwide event. But super stardom comes with a heavy price, especially when you're often compared to the greats like Etta James, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston. Speaking of heavy; the constant criticism thrown at... Read More »

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Elbow Flying Dream 1

Michael Mercer — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 16:32:01 +0000

Elbow, Flying Dream 1 Consistency and critical acclaim are the banes of an artist's existence. Countless bands have made this unfortunate discovery throughout millennia. Release a hit single your first time out, or, God forbid, an entire album that's embraced by the critics and the record-buying masses, and it feels almost impossible to meet expectations... Read More »

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Citizen Cope Lays it all on the Line for The Pull of Niagara Falls

Michael Mercer — Sat, 01 May 2021 16:19:41 +0000

Citizen Cope, The Pull of Niagara Falls Music has become so overproduced that even the most natural of things, the sound of a human voice, is often so auto tuned away from the real thing that it ends up sounding like a futuristic robotic-like facsimile of itself, and since it's digitally rendered—it sounds like a... Read More »

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Max Richter's Voices 2

Michael Mercer — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 17:55:49 +0000

Ambient music, like all other genres, has no rules. There may be, however, at least one tenant that many ambient artists collectively follow, or at least strive for, and that's the avoidance of sounding monotonous. This sounds obvious, but painting musically wide-open earthy and outer spacey landscapes is far from simple, even when they seem... Read More »

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James Blake, Covers

Michael Mercer — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 21:46:00 +0000

James Blake, Covers Standing out from the noise in popular music is no easy feat. It takes more than a strong voice to stick out from the crowd these days, with so many choices at our fingertips. From the genre blurring and warbly bass bending "Limit to Your Love," to the hauntingly ethereal landscapes of The... Read More »

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Mogwai, As the Love Continues

Michael Mercer — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 17:54:38 +0000

Mogwai, As the Love Continues Like most popular art forms, music is over-classified. When an artistic medium is overly distilled through endless descriptions, categories, names, and titles, the magic is also seemingly stripped from it. The ethereal music of Mogwai, the ever-evolving Scottish band, is an unfortunate victim of these attempts to classify rather than... Read More »

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Behind the Booths & Back Vol.2 - T.H.E. Show Newport 2016

Michael Mercer — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 19:40:07 +0000

"There's always somethin'..." Howard Mercer I don't mean to bite off my friend and co-PF scribe Andy Schaubs' style by leading with a quote for this installment of Behind the Booths & Back, but given the fact that the quote came from my pops, it seemed fitting. His words danced around in my brain throughout... Read More »

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CanJam SoCal 2016 - Behind the Booths and Back

Michael Mercer — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 20:31:17 +0000

A Personal Audio Odyssey Dan Wrights ModWright Tryst headphone amp was stunningly musical & engaging. CanJam SoCal 2016 was a very special time for me, and it was a raging success for Head-Fi.org and the personal audio community. A good friend recently said on the phone, "Sounds like it couldn't have gone any better," he... Read More »

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Sonic Satori Impressions: Audeze Titanium EL-8 + Cipher Lightning Cable

Michael Mercer — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 23:52:25 +0000

Audeze Nails It Yet Again As I sit on the back porch bobbin' my head to A Tribe Called Quest's "Lyrics To Go" off Midnight Marauders via TIDAL through Audeze's new Titanium EL-8 closed-back planars, I'm feelin' the music like I do when I'm using one of my usual portable systems. The sound is full-bodied, engagingly... Read More »

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Sonic Satori's Aural Indulgences Vol.1

Michael Mercer — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 19:45:17 +0000

Aight... (like "alright" in Brooklyn-slang) Time for a new sorta' Top Ten List here at Positive Feedback. We gotta slap some Sonic Satori flava on this one. First off however, I've got to give shout-outs to Dr. D (a.k.a David Robinson) for coming up with a kick-ass word that spawned the title (Aural—as it was initially called the... Read More »

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The Passing Of a Legend - Harry Pearson... From the Heart of Michael Mercer

Michael Mercer — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 21:23:04 +0000

It is with heavy hearts that we must share with you the sad news of the passing of a legendary man. Last night, the evening of November 4th, Harry Hall Pearson Jr. passed away peacefully in his home in Sea Cliff, NY, at the age of 77

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ALO's Studio Six Amplifier: On the Road From Remarkable to Exceptional

Michael Mercer — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 07:00:04 +0000

ALO's Studio Six has been an integral part of the heart-and-soul of my beloved Sonic Satori Personal Audio Lab since its inception. What the hell is the SSPAL? For the un-initiated: I've been working on a range of headphone systems that, IMHO, reproduce some of the most musically-engaging, excitable, and sonically addictive music playback experiences I could find.... Read More »

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Pearson Sound Comes Knockin' with Self-Titled LP

Michael Mercer — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 00:49:37 +0000

OK, straight outta the gate: Pearson Sound is not for everyone. Especially not all PF readers! If you're a fan of hard-hitting, percussively manic, and downright trippy intelligent electronic music—you should definitely give this LP a spin (or a click, whatever). However, if you're strictly a classical and jazz guy or gal—I don't think it would be fair to... Read More »

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CEntrance Wraps iPhone in Hi-fi Player & Headphone Amp!

Michael Mercer — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 08:22:38 +0000

CEntrance has established itself as a leader in the personal audio community/industry over the last decade. They've managed to position themselves at the top through constant innovation in their own products, while providing USB and other digital solutions for other high-end audio audio industry leaders such as Playback Designs, McIntosh, Benchmark, Wadia, and Lavry, to... Read More »

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Recondite, Iffy

Michael Mercer — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 22:10:32 +0000

Recondite is a master of smooth grooves. 2013's Hinterland was/is a superb compilation of intelligent electronic music that's ideal for just chillin' and listening, or thumpin' the bass in your whip on the way to the city lookin' for some debauchery. Recondites' sound is now. And believe me, I know that sentence sucks. It's pretentious,... Read More »

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Caribou, Our Love

Michael Mercer — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 22:04:36 +0000

Some records, I find, are best described as a sonic journey, a whole, rather than dissecting each track (though, admittedly, I'll be doing some of that), as Caribous' Our Love rarely got stopped while playing on any system I cranked it on! Now, the challenge here, is going to be describing the wonderful variety in... Read More »

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Sonic Satori – Thom Yorke Brings it on Tomorrow's Modern Boxes

Michael Mercer — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:47:45 +0000

The weight of expectations must be huge for Thom Yorke. I mean, not only is he the front-man for Radiohead, but he's got deep commitments musically in a couple of different areas at once. His side projects: The freshmen solo LP Eraser, has garnered critical acclaim world-wide. Atoms for Peace; his band with Red Hot... Read More »

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Response to Dr. Robinson's Essay on Harry Pearson - It's Like You Knew Him!

Michael Mercer — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 01:50:47 +0000

A Portrait of Michael Mercer: THE Show, Newport Beach, CA, 2013 I have to admit, it felt great to laugh out-loud while reading Dr. D's (as I call him) farewell essay on Harry Pearson. It was also refreshing; as he stated, because Dr. D never worked for Harry. He was able to take a more... Read More »

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Harry Pearson, Jr.: Godfather of High-End Audio, Sonic Explorer, and Southern Gentleman

Michael Mercer — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 01:35:42 +0000

Harry Pearson was an extraordinary man. He was always curious, and could turn an acidic, negative situation into fine wine and smiles with a quick-witted retort to a verbal challenge anytime. (Well, except after imbibing too many chocolate martinis). He loved knowledge, and was always reading something in the morning hours following his daily sunrise-walk.... Read More »

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Fhloston Paradigm, The Phoenix

Michael Mercer — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 04:37:02 +0000

I love it when an albums' sound is so fresh and mysterious it challenges my ability to classify it. My dear friend and editor Dave Clark recommended Fhloston Paradigm's The Phoenix, knowing my taste (and his) for experimental electronic music. I would definitely call The Phoenix experimental. However, I'm not sure if this record is in fact 'electronic'. It... Read More »

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Eno & Hyde, High Life

Michael Mercer — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 04:28:54 +0000

Eno & Hyde have never missed as far as I'm concerned. That's a true rarity. Actually, I can't think of any other cooperative artists projects that have been consistent in holding my attention on every record like these gents have. Every studio album of theirs I've discovered, even a few live bits are all something... Read More »

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Plastikman, EX (Performed Live At The Guggenheim NYC)

Michael Mercer — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 04:22:39 +0000

There are few genres more polarizing than minimal electronic music. This is totally subjective; but I believe you have to experience this music in a live setting in order to fully appreciate it outside the club: with perhaps a little chemical booster on-board in order to enhance the senses (or maybe not—Dr. David Robinson and... Read More »

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