Baltimore`s HAVE MERCY comprise of Brian Swindle, Andrew Johnson, and Nick Woolford and have rediscovered their passion with newfound wisdom and release their latest album `Numb` this month which is the follow-up to 2019’s `The Love Life`. Speaking about the upcoming album, vocalist/guitarist Brian Swindle says, “the best music HAVE MERCY has written and released are the songs that happen organically. This record was just us three guys writing music because we enjoy it. Lyrically, the record had no choice but to be influenced by my sobriety, new marriage, and repairing / disconnecting from relationships with people. Over the last couple of years, there have been a lot of changes. We’ve all had to face demons and come to grips with what our realities are and how to sustain a healthier lifestyle”.
We are introduced to the album with `Alive` a number about being stuck in toxic relationships and reflecting the struggle to detach from unhealthy situations. It grows in volume as it evolves and there`s a sense of exasperation shining through the vocals shared. We have an exploration of feelings of disconnection from the past, symbolising a point in life where emotions flood in with title track `Numb`. A gentle thoughtful reflective offering which bursts into life around the midpoint .
`Hey` is a fairly uplifting breezy composition with a jangling guitar riff sliced throughout. I read that the song serves as a love letter to dedicated fans who have supported the band for over a decade. We were all young once and went through that emotion and hurt of teenage romances and the guys really express the ups and downs of this rite of passage on the melodic `Friday`.
`Big Surprise` is a kind of homage to those close to us in life and what they really mean to us. The ones who accept us, faults, and all. It`s a fairly stripped emotive piece that pushes all the buttons you`d expect to be pushed. We return to a more powerful faster paced tempo on `Middle` which has a sense of wistfulness about it.
`I Can’t Stay` is a sort of reaffirmation of love to somebody close but with the proviso that changes need to happen or you`ll walk away. A pretty all-intense emotive ballad. We enjoy some fairly intricate wordplay on `Sick Of It` a song about feeling comfortable in one`s own skin and finally deciding not to adapt to fit into the view other people expect of you. A reflective mid paced piece which has it`s lively moments on route.
`Hit The Ground` is another number that signifies thanks to those who have stood by you in difficult times when it would have been easier to move on. We close out on `Floating` a final reflective introspective number with a rhythmic rolling drumbeat, hovering guitar chord riffs and vocals floated atop. An enticing track to end on.
HAVE MERCY are a really interesting band and there was much to enjoy on `Numb` which left me far from desensitised as the title would suggest but with a mellow and pleasant feeling of life ain`t too bad after all.
If you`re looking for an album to give you a warm glow during these dark and cold winter nights on this side of the pond, `Numb` will satisfy all of your needs.
Rating 8.5 /10
