Mercyland
Propeller Sound Recordings
Seemingly all at once, the ghosts of his past are catching up with David Barbe. A much-anticipated reunion with Bob Mould and Sugar is in the works, but that’s just the half of it, as a smash-and-grab collection of his fast and frenzied, yet undeniably tuneful, recordings from Mercyland hits the market.
Not found on any map, Mercyland carved out its own little corner of the Athens, Georgia, underground between 1985 and 1991, with Barbe out front on bass and vocals. It was Barbe’s baptism of fire, leading a punk trio that was young and raw, as his burgeoning musical talent was in its larval stage. This was long before The Drive-By Truckers came calling, eventually drafting Barbe to be their longtime producer, and Mercyland pre-dated Sugar, although it seems to have served as an audition of sorts to join up with Mould. He got the role all right.
Traces of that melodic punk fury that Hüsker Dü once unleashed are recognizable in Mercyland, especially in the sweeter ambushes of a blazing “Ciderhead,” as Mercyland lays down the law with a tightly focused sense of purpose, much as they do with “Can’t Slow Down to Think,” which sets a blistering pace. Introduced by a single tendril of feedback before shifting guitars into overdrive, “Amerigod” accelerates similarly, the rousing anthem a gripping rebellion that goes for broke like Land Speed Record did in its day. It’s not quite as loud, though.
Full of nasally angst and defiance, Mercyland spoke its mind in tracks like “Western Guns” — a great, slightly grungy, rock ‘n roll race and rumble with The Clash — and the chaotic “Imperial Vision,” but Barbe and company also trafficked in razor-sharp, vintage British pop-punk. Squeezing every hook possible out of “Vomit Clown,” “Black on Black on Black,” and the dizzyingly catchy “Radio Thieves,” they vacillated and bobbed energetically back and forth between The Jam and The Buzzcocks.
But Mercyland was American made, born of the South, and Barbe’s liner notes speak to his enthusiastic entry into this world, his patience and persistence, and his willingness to push everything else aside to make a name for himself, with help from drummer Harry Joiner and guitarists Mark Craig and Andrew Donaldson. Then came the end of Mercyland, but as alternative rock was about to find out, Barbe was only getting started.
