The Light In You

Mercury Rev's ninth studio effort, The Light In You is filled with wondrous and voluminous kaleidoscopic detail, but also intimate moments of calm, and altogether stands up to the very best that this notable band of maverick explorers has ever created. It's ecstatic highs and shivery comedowns also reflect a particularly turbulent era in the lives of Grasshopper and fellow co-founder Jonathan Donahue, of calamities both personal and physical, but also rebirths and real births. The light is reflected both by the album's brilliantine colors and imagery drawn largely from the elements and the seasons, creating a world as only Mercury Rev know how from the opening slow-build cascade of "The Queen Of Swans," through the epic lonely beauty of "Central Park East" and the album's half-way peak between "Emotional Freefall" and "Are You Ready" before the closing sequence, with the exhilarating pop beacons of "Sunflower" and "Rainy Day Record" sandwiching the more tranquil "Moth Light."