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Blog Categories Review STAHV - Simple Mercies - Reviewed By Metal Digest!

STAHV - Simple Mercies - Reviewed By Metal Digest! Sunday March 19 2023, 8:19 PM

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STAHV - Simple Mercies - Reviewed By Metal Digest ! Check it out here at this link: https://metal-digest.com/2023/02/25/stahv-simple-mercies-ep/

There have been two previous (and very different) experiences of Stahv’s music in the last decade, last year saw “Electric Youth”, a full-album reinterpretation of The Cult’s 1987 Rock Classic, and earlier his music was occasionally heard on multiple World Snooker and World 8-Ball Champion Steve Davis’s radio show; back when Stahv was known as an emerging Avant Garde/Drone Electronic artist.

So, it is almost needless to say Stahv now returns with a love letter to the glory days of Post Punk and Goth in the form of the “Simple Mercies” EP, and you know what? It’s excellent.

Lead single “P vs P” has respectful and reverential references to the guitar work of The Chameleons’ Reg Smithies (one of the most influential guitarists for guitarists) including a snippet of the iconic “Swamp Thing”. “Cold Case” is the most accessible Fields of the Nephilim song they never wrote, “Love 4 Nothing” has the same feels for Bob Mould and his many musical outlets. “My Riddle Finger” and closing track “Too Far to See” bring a whole bucketload of devotion for the Merseyside quarto of Echo and the Bunneymen, The Icicle Works, Flock of Seagulls, and Julian Cope/Teardrop Explodes, and their forays into Synthpop and Psychedelia.

And so it continues. On repeat listens you can pick out hints and allegations of numerous styles and sounds from his (and mine) formative years of the 1980’s. Last time with “Electric Youth” he gave us familiar songs in a range of idioms, with “Simple Mercies” he gives us his own songs in the style of the ultimate 1980’s Post Punk/Goth/Indie Rock supergroup that never existed; the genius of this is that at no moment does it sound contrived (it may as well have been entirely subconscious during the writing process), and It only makes for a frustrating listen due to being far too short. Another few songs longer this would be getting dangerously close to “Album of the Year” territory. As it is, it will merely have to settle for being this reviewer’s Album of the Month. Metal Digest

Release Date: Feb. 3rd, 2023

FFO: Fields of the Nephilim, The Cult, Echo and the Bunnymen

Location: Seattle WA

Short Bio: In 2017, Seattle-based artist STAHV (Solomon Arye Rosenschein) emerged as a shape-shifting one-person instrumental act. KEXP described STAHV as combining "elements of heavy psych-rock, doom metal, post-rock, noise-rock, and more." That sound continues to evolve with Simple Mercies, a collection of vocal-driven goth rock bangers drawing on Rosenschein's love of '80s aesthetics, synth-pop, and new wave.

Simple Mercies finds STAHV at its most urgent—with guitar and baritone vocal hooks galore plus a new rhythmic thrust. Channeling the gritty melodrama of Fields of the Nephilim, reverb-soaked churn of M83, and epic scope of Echo and the Bunnymen, songs like "Cold Case" and "Snake Key" twist and turn, combining focused arrangements with lush soundscapes.

When STAHV returned to performance in 2022, it was to support TUNIC, Vision Video, ACTORS, TRAITRS, and Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel. Employing vocals for the first time live gave the set a jolt of inspiration, convincing Rosenschein it was time to release originals in this vein. "Seeing audiences react to STAHV with singing told me it was time to switch course," Rosenschein says. "I was ready to stop pulling punches and draw on all aspects of what I've done throughout my life in music—from pop to metal and more esoteric fare."

Simple Mercies makes good use of these chops but serves a different goal. "The emotional core of these songs is unlike anything else I've ever done," Rosenschein explains. "They deal with mortality, isolation, and other existential issues. It's music that needs the human voice to connect."

Check out the video!