Anyone familiar with the New Jersey jangle-rock mainstays the Feelies understands the gift leader Glenn Mercer has for easy rhythms and casually adventurous melodies. Now, on the singer-songwriter’s second solo album, Incidental Hum (out on October 9 via Bar/None), Mercer’s on another journey — an all-instrumental one.
The record’s lovely, maraca-shaken opener, “Hana,” clocks in at a brief two minutes, but Mercer’s shown his aptitude for short-and-sweet knee-bouncers in the past with the Feelies (1986’s “When Company Comes”). Like so much of his previous work, the wordless, minimalist “Hana” has its own quiet influence; expect it to soundtrack a Sundance or IFC film in the coming years. Listen below.
