Since forming in 1989 in Buffalo, New York, Mercury Rev has made a career of boldly exploring the boundaries of artistic perception, channeling colors, sounds and visions that always seem to lie just beyond our human reach. The Guardian hailed the group as "a rarity in indie rock: a band that has constantly evolved its sound and pushed the boundaries of what rock music really means over 25 years, while borrowing from jazz, funk, doo-wop, techno, folk and more on the road,” while Rolling Stone praised their “majestic mayhem” and the BBC praised their “shimmering psychedelic pop, immersive indie rock, [and] spectacularly captivating passages of exquisite instrumentation.”
The band's 1991 debut album, 'Yerself Is Steam', made Pitchfork's list of the best shoegaze albums of all time, and their 1998 breakthrough, 'Deserter's Songs', was named NME Album of the Year upon its release. It was also included on Pitchfork's 100 Favorite Albums of the 1990s (2003), Melody Maker's All Time Top 100 Albums (2000), Uncut's 200 Greatest Albums of All Time (2016) and several "1000 Albums to Listen to Before You Die" lists . Versatile musical collaborations with legendary artistic greats, as well as appearances at major festivals and television shows worldwide, have cemented their status as one of America's most groundbreaking bands, capable of balancing mainstream and progressive musical experimentation.