Biography
Adam Snyder withdrew from his role as keyboardist in the New York-based ensemble Mercury Rev in order to launch a solo career centered on folk music. At the same time he signaled openness to rejoining the boisterous noise-pop outfit at some later date while exploring a calmer path as a singer and songwriter.
He had entered Mercury Rev in 1994 and stayed roughly five years, two of which were consumed by road work behind the band’s 1998 release Deserter’s Songs. Seeking relief from that pace, Snyder settled in Kingston, NY, where he began shaping gentler, more introspective songs rooted in traditional folk forms. Many of these pieces unfold as narratives, and several filter childhood recollections through the perspective of later years. He names Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Woody Guthrie, and Greg Brown among his chief inspirations.
The measured approach of folk stood in marked contrast to the volatile, unpredictable character of Mercury Rev, whose onstage behavior generated vivid press accounts even when the music itself proved erratic. During the group’s Denver Lollapalooza appearance the power was cut because of excessive volume, after which security subdued and removed the soundman in a headlock. On other occasions vocalist David Baker halted songs to obtain a drink.
Snyder’s subsequent solo tour of Ireland proved far less tumultuous. To support the dates he issued a split 7" with Dublin’s 19th Bar, a limited pressing released exclusively through Volta Records, the newly formed Dublin label, and sold only at the Irish shows.
He had entered Mercury Rev in 1994 and stayed roughly five years, two of which were consumed by road work behind the band’s 1998 release Deserter’s Songs. Seeking relief from that pace, Snyder settled in Kingston, NY, where he began shaping gentler, more introspective songs rooted in traditional folk forms. Many of these pieces unfold as narratives, and several filter childhood recollections through the perspective of later years. He names Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Woody Guthrie, and Greg Brown among his chief inspirations.
The measured approach of folk stood in marked contrast to the volatile, unpredictable character of Mercury Rev, whose onstage behavior generated vivid press accounts even when the music itself proved erratic. During the group’s Denver Lollapalooza appearance the power was cut because of excessive volume, after which security subdued and removed the soundman in a headlock. On other occasions vocalist David Baker halted songs to obtain a drink.
Snyder’s subsequent solo tour of Ireland proved far less tumultuous. To support the dates he issued a split 7" with Dublin’s 19th Bar, a limited pressing released exclusively through Volta Records, the newly formed Dublin label, and sold only at the Irish shows.
Albums