Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"A funny thing happened on the way to today," Mike Merz sings with a loping rhythm and banjo accompanying him, "I took you seriously when you screamed in my face that you don't care. I just don't want to go there." Merz's aching resignation is just one of many sides he reveals on his new CD, "The Odd Side of the Street." Ruminating on his topsy-turvy universe with impeccable pop melodies, wit and loads of emotional baggage, Merz brandishes his acoustic guitar like a fearless warrior on a mission to make it to the other side. The CD is mournful, celebratory and outwardly unusual, which makes Merz's brand of folk-pop so sparklingly brilliant.
--Vickie Gilmer

Toast Magazine's "Demorama" (Minneapolis)
TOP HONORS this time around goes to local pop/rock singer/musician/songwriter Mike Merz and his Can O' Worms. This isn't the first CD release for Merz's latest project, but I can put forth a good argument that it's certainly his best so far. Merz is blessed with a unique, excellent singing voice that, simply put, shines on this release. Good examples of this are the excellent "One More Time," and "Like Riding a Bike." Merz has always had a strong taste for the unusual and eclectic (see the track "Gates of Hell," which is beautiful in its weirdness), but it's the straightforward pop gems such as the aforementioned where he really hooks the listeners heart. It's a real pleasure to see an artist who has worked as long and hard as Merz release a piece of work this good. He's hit the musical nail on the head here, and his listeners are the lucky winners.
--Deneen Gannon

Pulse of the Twin Cities
When itís done tastefully, terminal melancholy can be quite comforting. And so it goes that, as downcast as "The Odd Side of the Street" may be, I can't find a moment here that I don't want to get more acquainted with. While he challenges himself musically, choosing the fifth thing he thought of rather than simply strumming a few chords, Mike Merz also challenges the listener to swallow a few bitter pills even as they relax in a beautiful bed of sounds. A cloud of despair, sometimes subtle and sometimes full-on, hovers over these introspective musings.

Probably figuring that the only people listening (right now anyway) are other musicians and a handful of friends and critics, Merz takes a few chances with his music. In the middle of the strange and symphonic ìGates of Hell,î a concerned friend admonishes Merz with the following voice mail message: ìMike, you gotta get out of that studio and go out and do something that doesn't involve you tweaking with weird-ass shit. You're gonna go crazy." Then we return to the "song," described by the press sheet as a 'multi-phasic' number. It certainly is. During one portion, a gentle acoustic guitar and piano mesh with found sounds and human voices to create the kind of ongoing druggy bliss usually associated with an early '70s Pink Floyd side. Along with his band, Can O' Worms, Merz also enlisted a slew of local guest musicians for the album, including Lori Wray, ex-Steeplejack player Ben Connelly, and the Cows' Thor Eisentrager. They generally play their instruments the same way Merz uses his voice ó as if trying not to wake the loved one in the next room. It's three in the morning, and the music has never been so alive.

A brush-drum and vibes are used to enhance the haunted lyrics of "More to Life." A tasty harmonica solo that sounds like it was lifted from a Jayhawks tune appears during the fade-out of "Higher Beings Command," and it leaves you yearning for more as it vaporizes into the mist. Later, a backwards guitar solo is juxtaposed with a jaunty mandolin, lending a joyously disconcerting crookedness to what is otherwise the most straightforward song on the album, "Don't Wanna Go There."

On "The Odd Side of the Street," Mike Merz does everything he can to avoid being conventional. It comes at the price of terminal melancholy, but it sure sounds great.
--Henry Horman

A&E (Minnesota Daily)
...Let Mike Merz's songs do the talking. Similar to the acoustic guitar and perky, but strangely ominous, vocal stylings of Stuart Davis and Dylan Hicks, "The Odd Side of the Street" is a must have for the tortured, cynical and neurotic. "Easy For You to Say" shows that Merz can actually sing-- a rare ability in this age of half-assed indie rock mumbling. "Like Riding a Bike" has the same dazzling effect with some heart-wrenching lyrics. Meanwhile, the vocal effects on "Human Resources" lend an almost Elliott Smith feel to the song (plus the cheesy beat-box intro is damn near priceless). "Odd Side" is well produced and the instrumentation is beautiful. The symphonic build-up and sampled commentary by Dan Nycklemoe on "Gates of Hell" is reason enough to own this disc. This music is creepy but sensitive. Naturally such a combination will provide interesting results.
--Jessica Hampton

AutoReverse (Columbus, OH)
Merz is a deft songwriter along the lines of Matthew Sweet or that guy E from The Eels. The production is professional and the playing is very good. "Like Riding a Bike" is Red House Painters sweet acoustic guitar action. "Higher Beings Command" also rules. There's nothing bad to be said about this disc, you either love it or despise it instantly for all the same reasons. "Gates of Hell" is a 4-part epic that should earn Merz some soundtrack work at the very least. "More to Life" sounds like the band Spain. A lot. Slow, slinky, moody and with a xylophone solo!... BUY THIS SHIT!
--Ian Stewart

Musician's Resource Web Site
If you have grown numb to today's music or if you think every new song is a remake of an old song, let me present to you, the music of Mike Merz & The Can O'Worms. Their CD "The Odd Side of the Street" brings meaningful lyrics, unique vocalizations, and beautiful experimental instrumentation to the table. Listeners, feast your ears.  Mike Merz & The Can O'Worms "The Odd Side of the Street" is a moody, catchy and emotional CD that you'll find yourself listening to on a rainy day, or when your sweetheart decides they've finally had enough of you. Songs such as "Like Riding A Bike" will remind you of how much loosing love can hurt and how much having love can heal.  Others like "Kites" will explore the feelings of uncertainty.  If you're sick of plastic, prepackaged music, give Mike Merz & The Can O'Worms a listen. I think you'll be impressed.
--K.W.

Lick Magazine (Minneapolis)
I don't know how to say it, but I like Mike's can of worms. I found myself thinking of the rocky mountain mystique that my great grandmother always talked of when she crossed them in a wagon in 1901. Mike Merz's music is a mix of western and folk music with a mild hippie psychedelic attachment. However you choose to describe it, one thing is for sure, the music is very relaxing as the singer whispers and tries to bribe you into his world through quiet speculation and hushed psychedelically relaxed rhythms. In the end, it's actually quite pleasant, but you have to be in the mood, or it won't work. (4 out of 5)

St Paul Pioneer Press
This Minneapolis-based songsmith/court jester's "Buzzkill Nation'' CD was one of the freshest bits of precocious pop to be released in 1996. And his new five-song EP is just as impressive, bridging that heretofore unbridgeable gulf between hip-hop and country, highlighted by the marvelous post-slacker anthem "No Such Thing as Saturday.''

 That something this much fun, and this rife with personality, is a self-released project is either a shining example of a do-it-yourself artist thriving in his own glorious element, or further evidence that the music industry as a whole has feces for ears.

"A lotta wack songwriters in the land of the lakes wouldn't know a fresh lyric if it hit 'em in the face,'' raps Merz, faux-arrogantly. Thing is, he's absolutely right. Present company excluded.
--Jim Walsh

Pookie Review (Decatur, GA)
Merz's sarcastic dark humor is in full bloom on this satirically narcissistic five-song disc. This time around, Merz takes aim at the bloated, egomaniacal rap-stars, singer/songwriters, and music industry blowhards who find salvation in their own overinflated self-importance. This disk will make you wonder about what 'artists' are really trying to say (or do) to us... Why are rappers and rock stars so intent on making us believe they're God's gift to the universe when in fact they're probably the most screwed up bunch of people on the planet? Why are singer-songwriters so hellbent on sharing their innermost feelings and deepest secrets with us when they claim to be so private and shy and sensitive? Why do celebrities like Rosie O'Donnell or Woody Haralson consider themselves deeply insightful political experts just because they're in the public eye? What do they want from us? Why should we even care? Merz makes his point by co-opting and mangling the very format he's lambasting : the opening track "Mach Merz Ein Der Haus" is a ridiculously boastful rap featuring his ultra-white midwestern vocal delivery over an equally white rhythm track. "Libra Moon" is another pseudo-rap in which Merz narates the event of his birth as a sort of astrological Second Coming that sounds like Leonard Nemoy fronting Jimmy Buffet's Coral Reefer band. The album's best song is "No Such Thing as Saturday" an on-target depiction of a struggling musician and his resentment towards the club owners and record execs who hold so much undue power over his life. This disc is a lot like Spinal Tap in that it's accuracy is both hilarious and REALLY depressing. Where's the St. John's wort? Pookie's Picks: No Such Thing as Saturday, Libra Moon

MIKE MERZ / DISCOGRAPHY / CONCERT CALENDAR / CONTACT / TRIBUTE ALBUM / REVIEWS / LYRICS / MP3/ RealAudio / LINKS / PIMENTOS FOR GUS

Gajoob Magazine (Salt Lake City)
This has quickly become one of my favorite CDs. Merz plays most of the stuff here with lots of help from lots of people throughout. The sound is hard to classify, but has a raw, modern sound with loads of inspiration, from acoustic folk to blues and much, much more. Instrumentation is very acoustic-oriented with guitar, kazoo, banjo, lap steel, violin, fiddle, and pedal steel all taking a turn. Molded with samples and answering machines and extremely interesting and diverse recording techniques, Buzzkill N@tion has a very unique and handcrafted sound that warrants many, many plays. Highly recommended!
--Bryan Baker

Pookie Review (Decatur, GA)
Merz's 11 song debut is chock full o' intelligent, witty, subversive tunes with subtleties that take repeated listenings to absorb and appreciate. Without a doubt, Merz's strongest point is his knack for writing detailed, multi-dimensional lyrics which combine skewed humor with an Orwellian slant. (Roger Waters with a sense of humor?) The results can be simultaneously hilarious and depressing. In the sharp-barbed "Rock & Roll" he sings, "You know you're at a radio-sponsored show when no matter who the band is, the guy sitting next to you says 'Oh, he sounds like Elvis Costello.'" On "Drag & Click" things get downright grim: "You are a lamb in sheep's uniform/ born in a widow's web site/ under the ATM sign." Yowza! With such sarcasm-and angst-filled lyrics, one might expect the music to be equally angry and punkish. Thankfully, Merz places his sentiments in laid-back (too laid back at times), spacy, mostly acoustic arrangements reminiscent of "Obscured by Clouds"-era Pink Floyd and embellishes them with Simon & Garfunkelish harmonies, fax machine samples, and one very cool and unexpected sitar raga. It wasn't until days later that I was caught by Merz's screwiest joke: one of the cover's two spines reads "The Very Best of Night Ranger." Most refreshing I must say. . . Pookie's picks: "Drag & Click," "My Other Job," "I Wish I Was Dead."

Fright X Magazine (Lancaster, PA)
From the opening sample to the goofy piano-pop of I Wish I Was Dead," this CD is a great collection of lo-fi collaborations that will leave you with a smile on your face. With collaborations by members of CHEMLAB, STEEPLEJACK and HEIFER, this CD is as varied as you can get without being discordant - theres even a sitar player on some of the songs - and is worth picking up if you want something a little different - and refreshing.
--Dan McCullough

Original Sin (Belgium)
c/o Didier Becu, Jozef Guislainstraat 6, 9000 Gent, Belgium, Europe
4 points [out of 5]
Mind you. . . this is as obscure for me as it is for you! But on a fine day I got this CD straight from the States and it has such a lo-fi DIY-type of cover I immediately knew it could have been anything. . . except commercial pop. This issue seems to be the one where I have lots of "weird" and "depressive" records. . . Well, this is weird and depressive. . . I really don't understand why everybody seems to believe that Elliot Smith is such a genius cos this is. . . at least 500 times better. As Mike is mentioning Neil Young in his 'thanklist' I'm pretty sure he's been influenced by him. . . in fact you can already hear it at Mike's voice. . . Maybe it's not hip to mention Neil Young in a fanzine (. . . I really don't care about things as such. . .) but having lots of Neil Young-albums in my collection it's not much of a surprise I like what Mike Merz does here. . . the sole difference is that apart from some songs this is a very dark album. . . tales about the worst evil there is, namely love or even songs about death. Well, some write songs about chasing girls with the help of a sportscar while others write songs about lovers who left them and with that destroyed their life. . . I can only say mine has not that much to do with a Ferrari so I'd rather listen to a record like this. . . If you're thinking Neil Young sounds a bit oldfashioned, replace it with Sparklehorse which is basically the same, only a bit more hip. . . Fuck hip records. . . listen to this. It won't get you a lover, but at least some beautiful moments. . .
--Didier Becu

U of M Newspaper, Morris, MN
Joined by members of Steeplejack, National Dynamite, Pimentos for Gus and several other Minneapolis bands, Mike Merz heads this collection of individuals from Minneapolis NOT in Golden Smog. Merz traipses through several musical styles on Buzzkill making the listener question at times the sincerity of the song.  Track one, Rock & Roll,  has a very strange Queenvibe. (Rock on, Garth.  Party on, Wayne)  Mearl Haggard playing over a jukebox in a seedy bar gives definition to N.O.E.W.D., heavy on the alcohol, light on the twang.  The loungy You Don't Like Punk Rock Anymore has strong radio possibilities, "but you won't be popping Black Flag in the boom box like before;" however, this is far from the best song on the album.  Merz sings so convincingly on I Wish I Was Dead that I feel I owe it as a public service to call the Suicide Hotline and tip them off.  "At the coffee shop they still hate me and I'm getting pretty tired of them." Drag & Click and Everything's Cool are stand outs on the album.  Much of this album you swear you've heard before, but don't remember it sounding as cool.
--Robert Fitzgerald

Anodyne Magazine (Portland, OR)
No, it's not a hardcore album. More like sillycore. Merz *is* the bulk of the band, which lapses through clean and sprightly acoustic-based pop. But it's the lyrics and Merz's vocal characters that are the pudding here. Highlights: the hazy, intentionally overwrought ode to big-time "Rock & Roll," a ditty about the rigors of punk-rock reality, the loathing dream of "I Wish I Was Dead," and a chilly, Simon and Garfunkel-inspired "Friendly Ghost." Delightfully skewed in a Stan Ridgeway way. --BJ