Also rockin' at the Olympia

Mercury Rev

Now together 10 years, the members of the alterno-American band, Mercury Rev, met at the University of Buffalo. Finding common musical cause, they worked together for three years to bring out their debut album, Yerself Is Steam, in 1991. A mix of noisy artrock and mutant surf instrumentals, the album is now regarded in certain indie circles as a mini-classic but unfortunately didn't sell that many units at the record shop. The follow-up albums, Boces and See You On The Other Side, saw the band build a formidable following on this side of the Atlantic among fans of what is known as "post-rock" music, but constant touring almost broke up the band as they began a descent into rock'n'roll madness.

Going back to their homes in the Catskill mountains in New York State, the band decided to start again from scratch. Out went the feedback, the discordant sounds and the muffled lyrics and in came a range of classical instruments, strong melody lines and crystal-clear vocals. The resultant opus, last year's Deserter's Songs, was acclaimed as "album of the year" by most every music magazine and paper going. It is indeed a deliciously melodic affair, with "greatness" stamped all over it. Their last two Dublin dates have been sold-out affairs and most memorable concerts. Don't miss them this time out.

Mercury Rev play The Olympia on Friday at 8 p.m.

Reef

MANY - but not the band themselves - were surprised when English rockers Reef went Top 10 with their dEbut album, Replenish in 1996. For the previous two years they had toured the country, playing small-scale venues and perfecting their brand of souped-up blues rock. Signed to Sony's "S2" label, they recorded their first demo back in 1993: it fell into the hands of one Paul Weller, who immediately invited them to join his tour.

A brace of hit singles in Good Feeling, Naked and Weird helped their cause no end, although maybe the band are a bit embarrassed by having their Place Your Hands single appropriated by fans of Chris Evans's TFIF programme (it's the tune used in the "It's Your Letters" segment of the show). The band are also a handy football team and have won numerous music industry six-a-side competitions, beating off teams from Oasis and Pulp, among others. Their second album, Glow, went to No 1, achieved gold status for the band in Britain and included the hit singles Come Back Brighter and Consideration.

Reef play The Olympia on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Jewel

OFTEN hailed as the "new Joni Mitchell", American singer-songwriter Jewel made a major splash with her 1995 debut album, Pieces Of Eight which was a welcome, mellow and acoustic affair which showcased her lyric-writing to great effect. Apart from the tender acoustic stuff, though, Jewel can also do richly textured pop and her growing number of fans was testimony to her ability to reach audiences who wouldn't normally cross the street to see a solo performer strumming a guitar.

As a result, Pieces Of Eight went on to sell a staggering 10 million copies.

The follow-up album, Spirit, fused elements of pop, folk and rock into an evocative, finely-woven musical tapestry. Apart from the usual Jewel sound, there was also some nifty pedal steel guitar work on the album as well as a surprise guest appearance from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassman, Flea. The album is full of evocative, even anthemic songs such as the organ-fueled Life Uncommon and the haunting Jupiter. Away from the music, Jewel has been busying herself with her poetry - her first collection of poems, A Night Without Armor, which was published in 1998, became a mainstay of the New York Times best-seller list. There's also a nascent acting career and her first lead role came in Ang Lee's feature Ride With The Devil, in which she played an 18-year-old bride in an American civil war drama. Busy woman.

Jewel plays The Olympia on Sunday, May 2nd at 8 p.m.