we are on our way to save you.

You know my interest in and devotion to the Cap'n Jazz tree (see it's outdated/abandoned skeleton here), so it's not surprising that a later-nineties band from Chicago that played shows with and befriended Cap'n Jazz are also on my list of respected bands. That's not even bring up that they were quite good, very influential, a first generation Polyvinyl band, and have fathered other enjoyable acts. Braid is that band. Releasing just two studio albums, a live disc, a slew of seven inches, and a two CD/four-LP collection of their seven inches and other rarities, Braid made their impact but disbanded in 1999. Other than a reunion tour in 2004, the members of Braid have parted ways to work with The Firebird Band, Hey Mercedes, The City on Film, and families. Singer Robert Nanna was the sole of Hey Mercedes until they disbanded in 2005 and now works solely on his solo City on Film projects. He's currently learning and covering 100 of his favorite songs.
The point is that I find Bob Nanna's voice and vocal melodies remarkable. I've mentioned before that it was alongside Limbeck in Columbus that I got my first taste of Hey Mercedes. I was a musical late-bloomer. I've been catching up for almost three years. Hey Mercedes was a very fun band and Loses Control is an album that I put in and am blown away, wondering how I could spend any amount of time neglecting it. Two of my favorite songs on the album are the opener and "Unorchestrated" which would be reincarnated on the band's farewell EP as the last Hey Mercedes song ever released. "Unorchestrated (LIVE)" is really moving. Maybe it's over-dramatic or melodramatic or Waking The Deadramatic, but I still get chills from it. It truly was the perfect was for a band to say goodbye.



Hey Mercedes' "Quality Revenge At Last"
& "Unorchestrated"
from Loses Control

Hey Mercedes' "Unorchestrated (LIVE)"
from Unorchestrated