Mercury Girls have cultivated something huge, their brand of pop reformatting all manner of dreamy influences from the past few decades into a sound that’s bright and blown-out. It’s hard to believe that the Philadelphia five-piece—who share a label with Veronica Falls and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart—have only been around for about a year. Last spring they shared a collection of quite polished demos and live songs that anticipated some gleaming studio recordings. Then a few weeks ago they offered the A-side of a debut single, Ariana, an entrancing anthem with Sarah Schimineck’s buoyant vocals gliding over a glassy stream of guitars.
There’s something so satisfying about seeing a new band spread its branches, especially when the reach is this wide. The B-side to the group’s first single, “All That Heaven Allows” instantly shuttles into a darker place than Mercury Girls have primed us for, opening out with a colossal drumbeat and a creeping guitar line that feels plucked from a minor-key Cure song. Schimineck’s vocals are icy, initially distant from the pure sweetness of “Ariana”, and only when the sun-drenched chorus rolls around does some of the ice begin to melt. “You take all that heaven allows,” Schimineck sings, awe and exasperation coming to a point in her delivery. Drastic entwined guitar riffs pummel us and don’t let up until radio silence hits. It’s chilling and overwhelmingly catchy—taken together with the A-side, there’s reason to believe there’s plenty more in store for the Girls.
The Ariana 7″ is out May 20 on Slumberland Records, and you can stream it below. There’s word of a debut full-length in the works, and in the meantime Mercury Girls will be releasing a couple of tracks on a Slumberland compilation and playing some shows on the east coast, dates below.
Mercury Girls tour dates
May
12 Philadelphia, PA at PhilaMOCA (DJ Set with Radiator Hospital, Spook School, Bent Shapes)
15 Philadelphia, PA at Underground Arts (with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard)
20 Philadelphia, PA at Space 1026 (Steve Keene Art Exhibit with My Favorite, The Snow Faeries)
21 New York, New York at Knitting Factory (NYC Popfest)
June
11 New York, New York at Cake Shop (with Flowers, Expert Alterations, DJs Kip Berman, Drew Citron, Bill Pearis)
14 Philadelphia, PA at Johnny Brenda’s (with Flowers, Beverly)
July
01 Philadelphia, PA at Johnny Brenda’s (with Fear of Men)
August
12 Athens, GA (Athens Popfest)
