Rival Sons have unleashed a brand new single entitled “Mercy” - available on all streaming platforms now. Watch a lyric video below. It heralds the impending arrival of their new album, Lightbringer, on October 20. It notably marks the group’s second full-length offering to be unveiled in 2023, following June’s critically acclaimed companion album Darkfighter. Lightbringer is available for pre-order/pre-save now. The pre-order includes two vinyl variants - Lemonade & Black - as well as a CD version.
As an album standout, “Mercy” illuminates the group’s uncanny knack for dynamics. Howling vocals toss and turn over a hulking guitar riff. Lyrically, it confronts pain passed down from one generation to the next as vocalist Jay Buchanan bemoans, “You know that anger moves like electricity.”
Regarding “Mercy,” Jay elaborated, “It’s so conductive, the way trauma moves from person to person. Anger moves like electricity in a similar way, once it gets inside you it immediately seeks transmission to latch onto someone or something else. The verses have this cyclical friction to them and it brought this to mind; inherited trauma and its vicious, silent grip. Breaking these cycles begins with recognition and I wanted to sing about that. Try a little mercy, mercy never lets you down.”
Guitarist Scott Holiday shared, “It’s time to reveal yet another track (the last before release day!) from Lightbringer! This round, we are sharing the song entitled: 'Mercy'. A song that deals with internal struggle and trying to connect with our ‘higher’ selves... to turn that energy within the struggle into something better. Musically this was a song I started very early in the writing process... Working with a similar tone that I used on the track 'Mirrors' from Darkfighter. Yet, we didn’t complete this song until the end of recording all the others. Like so many of the riffs I write, I hear the drums / groove immediately, and it’s equally important / integral to the riff. Miley delivers a pretty deadly and infectious groove to accompany my guitar. One of the coolest drum / riff moments of both records in my opinion. I love the minimalism Jay attacks the song with. Really drives the message home for me. Also an inspired guitar solo, which I cut at home in my own studio. Please enjoy “Mercy.”
About Lightbringer, Scott Holiday said, “When you do two albums back-to-back like this, there are a lot of things to think about. The first record has to pack enough of a punch and tell enough of a story for the second half to have an even bigger impact. We balanced them out with energy and meaning, but the follow-up always needed to deliver a bigger blow. I think Lightbringer provides this.”
Jay Buchanan added, “Darkfighter is a new Rival Sons, and Lightbringer is the clear definition of what we are now. We broke ground on Darkfighter, but Lightbringer is a step beyond the personal innovation and exploration. It goes a little further. We really took everything into our own hands and pushed to see how far we could go. It was a self-exploration to see who we were and who we’ll be now. We had more friction and compromise than ever, because we isolated the bare essence of where we needed to go—and then we went there.”
Rival Sons crafted Darkfighter and Lightbringer during the same sessions over the course of 2021. Once again, they recorded with creative confidant and longtime producer Dave Cobb behind the board. The band initially dropped Darkfighter to unanimous tastemaker praise earlier this summer.
Tracklisting:
"Darkfighter"
"Mercy"
"Redemption"
"Sweet Life"
"Before The Fire"
"Mosaic"
"Sweet Life" lyric video:
Rival Sons recently concluded a tour with The Smashing Pumpkins and will be touring through the end of 2023 with select US headline shows and festival appearances.
(Photo - Patrik Skoglöw)
