The Light in You
by Mercury Rev
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. AllMusic
    Oct 2, 2015
    80
    As The Light in You's title implies, Mercury Rev are seeking life's brightest moments, and they find them--along with some of their most satisfying music in many years.
  2. The Quietus
    Sep 28, 2015
    80
    Elegance and delicacy seem to be the intended effect, as well as intelligence, both innate and hard-won with time.
  3. The Line of Best Fit
    Sep 28, 2015
    80
    It’s not a reinvention, but Mercury Rev did their experimentation on their earlier records. Here they just get on with the job of sounding like nobody else, which suits them very nicely indeed.
  5. The Guardian
    Sep 17, 2015
    80
    It sounds as if music has rescued Mercury Rev.
  6. The Wire
    Sep 1, 2015
    80
    The Light In You is palpably charged with love of music and gratitude for its redemptive powers. [Sep 2015, p.48]
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  7. Under The Radar
    Aug 26, 2015
    80
    The album is clearly painstakingly and expertly crafted, yet still sounds effortless. [Aug-Sep 2015, p.64]
  8. Q Magazine
    Aug 26, 2015
    80
    Core members Jonathan Donahue and Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak render sadness in twinkling matinee orchestrations, Central Park East or Coming Up For Air sounding pillowy, expansive, there to cushion a fall. [Oct 2015, p.111]
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  9. musicOMH.com
    Oct 12, 2015
    70
    Whilst nothing on The Light Of You is quite as sumptuous or ornate as the best moments on Deserter’s Songs, it does demonstrate that Mercury Rev are a band still able to engage the senses.
  10. Pitchfork
    Oct 1, 2015
    70
    As The Light in You’s dichotomous halves prove, Mercury Rev are much better at being trippy than being groovy.
  11. Drowned In Sound
    Oct 1, 2015
    70
    Occasionally they over-indulge, and it’s certainly not their best LP, but it's easy to forgive them given the obvious love that’s contained within the tracks here.
  12. Magnet
    Sep 22, 2015
    70
    Not everything kills, but when the band's "psychedelic rock and blue-eyed soul" finds its groove, it's still a breathless wonder to behold. [No. 124, p.61]
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  13. PopMatters
    Sep 16, 2015
    70
    Mercury Rev may still sound like themselves and only themselves, but that sound has now been sharpened to a very fine optimistic point--and all points can still slice an edge.
  14. Clash Music
    Sep 14, 2015
    70
    While it's lovely to have them back, this album is more of a pleasant addition to the Mercury Rev catalogue than a defining moment.
  15. Uncut
    Aug 26, 2015
    70
    While the sugary highs could give Van Dyke Parks an ice cream headache, it's hard to resist a work so clearly besotted with the power of music. [Oct 2015, p.78]
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  16. The Observer (UK)
    Oct 5, 2015
    60
    The delicate songs quickly exposing the thin line between pretty and cloying. However, salvation arrives with the euphoric chorus of Are You Ready?, swiftly followed by Sunflower’s easygoing pop charms.
  17. Record Collector
    Sep 11, 2015
    60
    Consistent with the band’s work since All Is Dream, wide-eyed odes to the elements are interspersed with fragile ruminations on relationships. A welcome return.
  18. Mojo
    Aug 26, 2015
    60
    Their mellowest ever high. [Oct 2015, p.92]
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 1 out of 13
  1. Muzmarinator
    Oct 5, 2015
    8
    its been a long wait between albums for MR. After the more experimental Snowflake Midnight some seven years ago, and the absence of Daveits been a long wait between albums for MR. After the more experimental Snowflake Midnight some seven years ago, and the absence of Dave Fridmann twiddling the knobs, we might expect big changes to the sound in this installment. Well there is and there isn't. In some ways this record is even more lush than its predecessors. For the first half at least its no big departure. Dreamy, exquisitely layered and detailed, the songs float around you. And there are some great tracks. On the second side though (or at least much of it), Mercury Rev become rock revivalists. Its an interesting move but it doesn't entirely work. The lyrics somehow sound more twee than Jonathan's usual mystical musings. Still, the record in all is a grower (like more mercury Rev records) and perhaps northern soul styled Mercury Rev will also be a grower. Intriguing.… Full Review »
  2. captaincrabface
    Oct 3, 2015
    8
    The Light in You is a great album and for me there best album since All is Dream. It's heartfelt pop music that doesn't sound like anyoneThe Light in You is a great album and for me there best album since All is Dream. It's heartfelt pop music that doesn't sound like anyone else. The record is a lot more interesting than their last few. It embraces styles they haven't tried before, and that you wouldn't expect from the Rev, there's a soul stomper, stax horns, a bluesy love song, songs that could almost be easy listening , and a 70's influenced groove along with the symphonic psychedelia they do so well. Rainy Day Record and Central Park West are two of the best songs I've heard in a long time.

    This is an album that unashamedly references and celebrates a wide variety of music. It's not necessarily cool and not trying to be. It's a long way from Boces and their early records and if you don''t like later Rev this probably won't change your mind.

    The closer Rainy Day record is an anthemic celebration music and that feeling you get once in a while when you hear a great record and discover the power of music again -and the music matches the words. I have a big smile on my face everytime I listen to it.    … Full Review »
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