Radar Mercury - Thank you, goodnight ep (2000, Doghouse) & demo (1999)

They may have been a blip on the radar (pun intended) but this New Jersey quintet bowled me the hell over with their lone official release, the all too fleeting Thank you, goodnight ep.  Taking obvious cues from such Northeast corridor favorites as Texas is the Reason and the Juliana Theory, the Radar Mercury's synthesis of sturdy musicianship, penetrating hooks and riveting power was par excellence for their chosen genre, which for better or worse, was the trend du jour.  "Million Dollar Messenger Boy" is the barreling fireball that gets things going, and the remainder of Thank you... is just as gripping and potent (then again, with only four tracks there's not much space for things to go off the rails).  Too bad they didn't stick around long enough to grace us with a full length, because their potential here was absolutely staggering. 

Of course, there was an obligatory demo tape that made the rounds, and I feel fortunate to have procured one when I saw the Radar Mercury open for Discount in 2000 (or was it '99)?  Like the aforementioned ep, the cassette also featured four songs, with only one, "Nothing's Wrong, Nothing's New" overlapping.  My main beef with it is the excruciatingly poor production (or perhaps a botched digital to analog transfer) and the inordinate tape hiss, which is impossible to ignore.  Better than nothing I suppose, considering this entry includes what would appear to be the Mercury's entire oeuvre. 

Thank you, goodnight ep
01. Million Dollar Messenger Boy
02. Tenth Grade
03. Nothing's Wrong, Nothing's New
04. Danny Gomez?

demo
01. Two Hour Town
02. The Simple Mind
03. Nothing's Wrong, Nothing's New
04. Fast Cars and Fast Women

Thank you, goodnight ep: Hear
demo: Hear