Caviar - The Thin Mercury Sound

Genre rock Publisher Aezra Records External Links Caviar Aezra Records

There might be a universe where Caviar is a tremendously popular band. It's just nowhere near this one.

That's not to say Caviar stinks. Actually, they are quite wonderful. But if you can't get a one-liner off at Caviar's expense, then you probably don't get Caviar.

Caviar plays extremely melodic pop-rock with overdriven guitars in the Cheap Trick-midwestern tradition. Of course, there are probably a lot of bands that do that, but what separates them from, say, Third Eye Blind, are two things. The first is a snarky, sarcastic sense of humor where they nickname their fans the Caviarmy and sing about white guys being on the down low while winking but not winking too hard.

The second is an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink production value that helps craft the hook. Specifically, they use tape loops and samples to interesting effects. Stripped down, the songs hold up on their own; built up, the songs are little masterpieces.

For those who have buried themselves knee-deep in emo or metal or any subgenre that pours the self-loathing on thick, Caviar is part of a balanced diet. This is fun, nu-glam rock for people who didn't like the old glam rock.

Their self-titled 2000 debut, built from the ashes of the Chicago post-grunge outfit Fig Dish, was a surprisingly fully realized gem with lyrics like, "You got the goldmine, I got the shaft/You're Thomas Jefferson, I'm William Howard Taft."

The Thin Mercury Sound continues in that tradition. In some universe, people are paying attention.