Migration:Treasure State

Title: Migration

Label: Woodson Lateral

Genre: Chicago indie rock via Seattle

Rating: 6 of 7

It’s really pretty bad that Robert Mercer ripped off Tim Kinsella and really the whole city of Chicago so badly, but he just does it so well, it’s hard to be mad. Mercer, who has been part of Joel RL Phelps Downer Trio for the last 10 years and older brother of the Shin’s frontman James Mercer, sings like a smoother Kinsella (which can be good or bad depending on the way you look at it) and even plays the guitar in the same metallic and moody sense of Make Believe. I could even go into it further because the song structures and lyrics also seem to reflect Kinsella. Though created in Seattle the sound almost sounds like a distant relative of the electric Chicago Blues. Mercer does have one key advantage though, because his sound is more refined and slightly smoother (which by no means I am saying is better), he is much more accessible. If you need more proof, Treasure State has already shared the bill with the likes of the Shins, Spoon and Mates of State. So play and enjoy this album, but take it with a grain of salt, because there are certain Chicago collectives that did it first.

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