Mercy (John Cale album)

Mercy is the seventeenth studio album by the Welsh musician and composer John Cale. It was released on 20 January 2023 by Double Six Records, making it Cale's first album of new songs in over a decade. It features collaborations with Tony Allen, Laurel Halo, Weyes Blood, Tei Shi, Animal Collective's Avey Tare and Panda Bear, Dev Hynes, Sylvan Esso, Actress, and Fat White Family. It was inspired by current events such as Donald Trump's presidency, Brexit, COVID-19, climate change, civil rights, and right-wing extremism.

Background

Cale has hinted at a new album numerous times over the years following the release of M:FANS (2016), his previous studio album featuring reworkings of old songs, and Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood (2012), his last album with all new songs. When M:FANS was released in January 2016 Cale said that another new album with new songs would be released by the end of the year. According to a November 2017 interview, the album was set for a 2018 release. In September 2018, Cale said it will be released the following year. The album was subsequently completed before the COVID-19 pandemic, but its release was delayed.

On 1 August 2022 the first single from the yet-unnamed album, "Night Crawling", was released along with an animated video by Mickey Miles. The second single, "Story of Blood" featuring Weyes Blood, was released on 19 October 2022. The music video, directed by Jethro Waters, was released on the same day along with announcing the album title and track listing.

The standard edition of Mercy contains twelve songs, while the special edition includes a bonus 7" single with two more songs.

Critical reception

Mercy was named the album of the month by Uncut with Tom Pinnock calling it "the most out-there work Cale has made in some time, a hermetically sealed, hallucinogenic journey that's as neon-lit and gothic as its cover art."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

• John Cale – production
• Nita Scott – production (all tracks), mixing (14)
• Mike Bozzi – mastering
• Mikaelin Bluespruce – mixing (1, 3, 4, 11)
• Seven Davis Jr – mixing (2, 6, 8, 9, 13)
• Tokimonsta – mixing (5)
• Justin Raisen – mixing (7, 10, 12)
• Dustin Boyer – mixing (14), engineering (all tracks), additional production (8)
• Actress – additional production (2)

Visuals

• Abby Portner – artwork
• Rob Carmichael – graphic design

Charts

References

External links

• Mercy at Discogs (list of releases)

1. Poptical Illusion
2. John Cale
3. Mercy (disambiguation)
4. John Cale discography
5. MFANS
6. The GTOs
7. Nico
8. The Marble Index
9. Dustin Boyer
10. Eric Gorfain
11. List of 2024 albums
12. ZE Records
13. Helen Terry
14. Matt Fish (cellist)
15. Deantoni Parks
16. Sylvan Esso
17. Mose Allison
18. Laurel Halo
19. Brothers in Arms (album)
20. Jim Keltner