Blackout Beach is the solo psuedonym of Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes and Swan Lake), who will release his second full length under the moniker, Skin Of Evil, this December 2 on Soft Abuse. Composed, played and recorded entirely by Mercer alone, these songs revel in the dark side of the heady proto-punk Cleveland axis with a minimal, textural & almost Suicide-ish sense of pop form and the experimental nature of recent Scott Walker works.
A concept album, Skin Of Evil is the story of “Donna” – whether fictional or not – a character who, along with her lovers (both past and resent), is the subject of the entire album. Through Mercer’s songs, Donna and her lovers get the opportunity to tell us of their experiences. We’re not sure who is narrating this chapter, but the lead track “Could Of Evil” is a murky and haunting song that – as the press release states – brings to mind Suicide as well as hometown hero David Thomas. If these names don’t strike you, think David Bowie and the Monks of Gregorian Chants.
MP3 Download – “Cloud Of Evil”
Skin Of Evil tracklisting
01. Cloud of Evil
02. Biloxi, In a Grove, Cleans Out His Eyes
03. William, the Crowd, It’s William
04. The Roman
05. Woe to the Minds of Soft Men
06. The Whistle
07. Nineteen, One God, One Dull Star
08. Three Men Drown in the River
09. Sophia, Donna, I Was Down the River Waiting
10. Astoria, Menthol Lite, Hilltop, Wave of Evil, 1982
