Boces is the second album by American indie rock band Mercury Rev, released on June 1, 1993. It was their final album with original frontman David Baker, who was asked to leave shortly after the supporting tour concluded. The title is derived from the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) system of vocational schools in New York.
During a performance at Lollapalooza on the supporting tour, the band were forced off the stage for playing too loud.
Music
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Q | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Select | 4/5 |
| Uncut | 8/10 |
Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote that "With Boces, Mercury Rev took everything that made Yerself Is Steam such an impressive debut and made their second album even more so...Mercury Rev never released another album as joyfully, unselfconsciously creative as Boces; after chief weirdo David Baker departed, the band pursued other fascinating directions, but this album remains one of the highest points of its career."
Track listing
All tracks are written by Mercury Rev according to the liner notes; actual writing credits from the ASCAP Repertory are listed below.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meth of a Rockette's Kick" | David Baker, Jimy Chambers, Jonathan Donahue, Dave Fridmann, Sean Mackowiak, Suzanne Thorpe | 10:29 |
| 2. | "Trickle Down" | Baker, Chambers, Donahue, Fridmann, Mackowiak, Thorpe | 5:04 |
| 3. | "Bronx Cheer" | Baker, Donahue, Fridmann | 2:49 |
| 4. | "Boys Peel Out" | Baker, Donahue, Fridmann, Mackowiak | 4:28 |
| 5. | "Downs Are Feminine Balloons" | Baker, Donahue, Fridmann, Mackowiak, Thorpe | 6:29 |
| 6. | "Something for Joey" | Baker, Chambers, Fridmann, Mackowiak, Thorpe | 4:06 |
| 7. | "Snorry Mouth" | Baker, Chambers, Donahue | 10:55 |
| 8. | "Hi-Speed Boats" | Baker, Fridmann, Mackowiak | 4:00 |
| 9. | "Continuous Drunks and Blunders" | Baker, Donahue, Fridmann, Mackowiak | 0:48 |
| 10. | "Girlfren" | Baker, Chambers, Donahue, Fridmann, Mackowiak, Thorpe | 4:41 |
Personnel
- Mercury Rev
- Jimy Chambers – Drumming, AtlasSweepstakes
- Jonathan Donahue – Silver Pickup Guitar, Vocals between Ventolin hits
- Grasshopper – Dither Guitar, Licorice Stick
- Suzanne Thorpe – Rooster Tail Bass Flute, Chevron Fife
- Dave Fridmann – Bass Explore, Exhaled band-with Magnetics
- David Baker – Vocals
- Additional musicians
- Julie Baker – violin
- C. Gavazzi – French horn
- Jim Burgess – trombone
