Mercury Lounge

showview

Please note: All events are 21+ unless otherwise noted.

Tue 8/19

$10

http://www.myspace.com/barnonerecords
Darren Jessee and his Hotel Lights know how to strip a song down to its very essence for maximum impact. Their sophomore album Firecracker People is a beautifully recorded work that is eclectic, effortless and classic all at once. The title song was written for an upcoming movie called Basmati Blues that also features new music from Brian Wilson and Burt Bacharach. Darren Jessee is a former member of the Ben Fold Five and co-wrote their big hit “Brick.”

http://www.myspace.com/shannonmcardle
When Shannon McArdle left her band, the Mendoza Line, in 2007, she was also leaving behind a marriage to fellow Mendoza Line member Timothy Bracy. After four albums with the group and another project with Bracy called Slow Dazzle, Shannon is heading out on her own with an unflinching report from the frontlines of divorce. Shannon McArdle in Summer of the Whore is a unique, unflinching view of her life in the summer of 2007, finally ready for delivery in the summer of 2008. Collaborating on arrangements with former ML alum Adam D Gold, the album is a sparse, haunted affair that delivers a wide variety of moods and textures. Shannon McArdle's latest is not the feel-good album of the year, but it is an honest, singular work, rich in melody and the occasional bitter smile. Sometimes a season seems to last a very long time, but soon the air and the trees, and maybe we change without effort. Fortunately for her listeners, Ms. McArdle captured the Summer of the Whore before it passed her by.

http://www.myspace.com/starlingelectric
Ann Arbor’s Starling Electric will be releasing their debut album Clouded Staircase nationally on August 19. Recorded entirely at their own White Lodge studio, its 18 original tracks represent no less than a mission statement - or maybe a call to arms for anyone still interested in melodies, harmonies, and the power of a good pop song. Starling Electric has caught the attention of Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices), who invited them to open for him on an east coast tour swing. Soon after, the group was championed by Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow (Posies/Big Star) on BBC-6 Radio and their respective websites. Starling Electric was originally a solo project by singer/songwriter Caleb Dillon that has grown into the dynamic four-piece that exists today.