''Mercy'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band

Remo Drive Remo Drive is an American rock band from Bloomington, Minnesota. They are currently signed to Epitaph Records. They released their first full length album titled ''Greatest Hits'' on March 16, 2017. Their second studio album '' Natural, Everyday ...

, released on February 23, 2024, through

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

Background

''Mercy'' originated when Remo Drive frontman and guitarist Erik Paulson moved to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

while his brother and Remo Drive bassist Stephen Paulson stayed in Minnesota. This led Erik to " ontemplatethe complexities of being in a relationship, of making art and having it be received by a wide audience, and the complexities of finding your footing in a new place". The album was produced by

Phil Ek Phil Ek is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. Ek began his career in Seattle, Washington in the early 1990s recording live sound in clubs. He then moved into studio recording, recording small projects and demos for local bands. Aro ...

, who is known for his work with bands such as

The Shins The Shins are an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's c ...

and

Band of Horses Band of Horses is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has been the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line ...

. Speaking about working with Ek, Erik Paulson said, "It was refreshing to work with Phil. It made music feel like how it did when we were younger. He was like fuck it, let's go, let's have fun". Remo Drive released the album's lead single, "No, There's No Hope for You", on October 31, 2023, alongside an animated music video. The song served as the band's first release of new music since their 2020 album '' A Portrait of an Ugly Man''. ''Mercys second single, "New in Town", was released on December 6, 2023, alongside a music video that, as described by Michael Major of

BroadwayWorld BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City, New York. Launched in 2003, the site covers Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater productions, with sections devoted to particular countries, cities, or regi ...

, "features a melodramatic karaoke style performance of the song in an empty bar full of mannequins". The album's title track was released as its third single on January 11, 2024, alongside the announcement of the album and a music video, which was described by Logan White of Substream Magazine as "black and white Spaghetti Western style" and "complete with a standoff involving toy guns". "All You'll Ever Catch" was released as the album's fourth single on February 7, 2024. On August 20, 2024, Remo Drive announced the deluxe edition of ''Mercy'', which will be released on October 18 and will feature cover versions by

Field Medic Field Medic is the stage name of American indie folk musician Kevin Patrick Sullivan. History Sullivan began releasing music with his older brother Sean in 2009, initially as Westwood & Willow and then with drummer Andrew Skewes-Cox as Rin Tin ...

, Boyish,

Caleb Lee Hutchinson Caleb Lee Hutchinson (born March 2, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter, and runner-up on the sixteenth season of ''American Idol''. Early life Caleb Lee Hutchinson was born in Dallas, Georgia, to William and Piper Hutchinson. He has a bro ...

, and Wilt. Wilt's cover of "Please, Please Be Smart" was released alongside the announcement.

Critical reception

In a negative review, Jesper of

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic (abbreviated as Sputnik) is a music website that publishes music reviews and news entries. The site hosts both professional and amateur content, covering metal, punk, indie, rock, hip-hop, pop and other styles. Its reviews are us ...

said that while the performances on the album were "fine", the band "does an excellent job at making everything sound so goddamn lifeless that it's hard to find any value in absolutely anything here". He also stated that Remo Drive have become "an utterly pointless project" and felt that the energy and passion of their early releases was nowhere to be found on ''Mercy''.

Track listing

Personnel

Remo Drive * Sam Becht – drums, percussion * Erik Paulson – vocals, guitar, keyboards,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

assistance * Stephen Paulson – bass, synthesizer Additional contributors *

– production, mixing,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Joe LaPorta Joseph J. LaPorta (born January 19, 1980) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey. Career LaPorta was born in New York and grew up there; he graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in ...

– mastering * Garrett Reynolds – engineering assistance * Tim Houston –

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

* Dane Folie – piano (track 10)

References

{{Authority control 2024 albums Remo Drive albums Epitaph Records albums