We are beyond psyched to announce a new EP from New Haven-based Mercy Choir, officially out tomorrow on CD and all your favorite streaming platforms. For years hyper-prolific Mercy Choir mastermind Paul Belbusti has been releasing a steady stream of sounds, quietly becoming New Haven's Bob Pollard, both in output and killer melodic hooks.
On More Than Ever, Belbusti has a full band backing him, this time with his current and longest running lineup: Tim Goselin (guitar), Chris Zollo (keys), Brian Slattery (bass), Bruce Crowder (drums), and Loralee Geil (vocals/percussion). And this time around, Belbusti enlisted sound engineer Scott Amore (Mark Mulcahy, Butterflies of Love, Famous Problems) to record the band in New Haven's historic Lyric Hall theater. A wise choice, as it sounds amazing! See the band perform these newer tunes as well as some MC classics tomorrow night at Best Video in Hamden, CT where things get underway at 7:30. Details here. Special guests Little Silver open. Head right over to our webstore, listen to the whole EP, and grip the CD or download. Here's our take on this fine collection of songs...
More than any previous Mercy Choir recording, More Than Ever captures the depth, clarity, and joy of seeing the band perform live in an intimate setting. The songs are arresting and a testament -- not just to Belbusti's continuing evolution as a gifted songwriter, but to the strength of all of its contributors. One hears a cohesive unit playing with the confidence and trust in one another rarely heard from a band that's only been together a couple years. We hear Mercy Choir stretching out and highlighting stylistic aspects of material and taking it to unexpected heights -- percussive and vocal flourishes, incisive guitar leads, subdued, snaking rhythms and perfectly placed drum fills all jump off the palette and onto the canvas when and where they belong. Sometimes the band just lays out and rocks -- happy to perform gems and point (hard) at the parts they like with an open grin. These songs are closed-rolled-eyes good, and even after repeat listens, when the record's over, we're back to the beginning listening to what we thought was something else last time but is even more so...now more than ever.