Everynight Fire Works is the debut studio album by American rock band Hey Mercedes.

They recorded their debut with Burning Airlines member J. Robbins at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota in April 2001.

Everynight Fire Works was announced for release shortly after recording, but was delayed a few times because of distribution troubles or legal issues that Vagrant was having.

It was eventually released on October 23, where it was met with a mixed-to-positive reaction from music critics, with some commenting on the group's maturity and guitar work, as well as Nanna's vocals.

Sometime after release, Dawursk left the band and was replaced with Michael Shumaker, and drummer Damon Atkinson spent some time touring with Saves the Day.

[2] Guitarist Chris Broach focused his efforts on the Firebird Band, while the other members of Braid spent time at home.

[3] Vocalist/guitarist Bob Nanna, bassist Todd Bell and drummer Damon Atkinson began playing together in October 1999; the first Hey Mercedes practice was held in April 2000.

[5] Nanna worked at a brokerage firm, Bell and Atkinson spent time at a bakery, and Dawursk served at a coffee shop.

[3] Long-time connections enabled to band to tour with the likes of Alkaline Trio, Saves the Day and Jets to Brazil.

The second day saw the basic outlines of "Every Turn", "A-List Actress", "Our Weekend Starts on Wednesday", "The Frowning of a Lifetime" and "Haven't Been This Happy" being recorded.

By April 27, Nanna's voice gave out, resulting in him tracking some guitar overdubs, including an intro to "The Frowning of a Lifetime".

The main reason for the length of time was the band wishing to move away from the angular guitar work of Braid and into a sound of their own.

[21] It sees a guitar riff being played over a larger chord progression with bass and drum breakdowns,[22] which Nanna said Dawursk or Bell came up with.

[36] Designer Gregg Bernstein and photographer Christopher Strong worked together to come up with the artwork concept after discussing with the rest of the band.

Atkinson spent some time touring with Saves the Day as their temporary drummer, before returning to Hey Mercedes in early March 2002.

[49] In November and December 2002, the band toured across the US with Avail and the Curse; Planes Mistaken for Stars and the Reunion Show appeared on select dates.

CMJ New Music Report writer Nicole Keiper said fans of Braid would like the release a lot, from Nanna's "pleading yelps and stop-start guitar breaks" to Atkinson's "neck-snapping snare smashes".

[21] The album showed "men who are comfortable in their skin, wearing well-crafted vocal melodies and simple, catchy riffs".

[19] Though he likened the band to a more "direct, melodic" branch away from Braid, he enjoyed the "smoother take on the indie guitar rock that searches for melody and mood within its pumping chord strums.

"[19] LAS Magazine founder Eric J. Herboth said that despite him "expecting the worst", he eventually saw it as "the best album that Vagrant has put out", "packed from beginning to end with slickness, [and] a furiously catchy, meaty guitar sandwich".

[52] The band had "thoroughly floored" him with the release, applauding the "increasing complexity" of the guitar work, combined with a "more streamlined approach by the rhythm section, that makes this album tick".

[52] AllMusic reviewer Tom Semioli said it was an "aggressive collection of guitar driven emo-rock tracks built upon melody and passion.

"[17] The group's "clever two-guitar arrangements" that fused "basic voicings with linear phrases" were backed by a stable "rhythm section that turns the beat around when you least expect it.

"[17] Tiny Mix Tapes wrote that the record encapsulated the group's "live energy and their studio perfectionism", with the band sometimes fitting into the "genre they are clumsily lumped into, but other times, don't; they come across as the big intelligent independent brother" to acts such as Saves the Day.

[53] Pitchfork contributor Rob Mitchum said he couldn't "decide whether I'm disappointed or just plain angry about the vanilla ice-cream blandness of Everynight Fire Works.