Mercy Years
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | SELF
Music
Press
Sometimes you hear a song from an unknown band and understand that something big is going to happen to them, as they have charisma, good melodies, a professional approach and talent. The wonderful indie band Mercy Years, from Vancouver, Canada, is an example of such a band.
They are currently working on their debut EP and the songs they have already recorded show great potential for this album. So let’s believe this EP will bring them great success! - R&R World - Ukraine
I’ve always wanted to be present at one of those iconic moments in music history.
I was alive when rock and roll was being reinvented at CBGBs and The Sex Pistols inspired a generation at the Manchester Free Trade Hall. But being a toddler at the time, I wasn’t exactly hip to these nights when they were going down. I was there for the last shows by The Stone Roses and Pavement (before they had to reform and spoil my lovely stories). But still, it would have been a tale to tell, to have been there in the flesh as new music exploded into the universe.
I’m not for a moment implying that Vancouver’s Mercy Years will have the cultural resonance of the Ramones or the Pistols. But I can say that I was there at their first show. And I can say that it was pretty fucking good.
It didn’t look promising at first. The whole thing was a fundraiser for some theatre production, held in a crumbling assembly hall awash with the aroma of BO and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Stage times were running hours behind schedule, and we were forced to sit patiently, enduring a sequence of well meaning but creatively bereft acoustic guitar strummers; men who think an interesting hat will disguise a complete lack of personality.
I was bored and tired by the time Mercy Years came on stage. Of course, they weren’t called Mercy Years then. Ask what their name was and you’ll get six different answers.
And then they started playing.
That’s when a weird thing happened. These weren’t the guys I’d met in the coffee shop. They were a band. There were ideas. There was vision. They had real songs.
Since then, every time I’ve seen Mercy Years, they’ve been better than the time before that. Every time they’ve said, “this is a new song”, it’s been their best one yet. Three guitars. Multiple lead vocalists. Mercy Years don’t make the obvious decisions. The ideas arrive in layers. Hints of Broken Social Scene, Bloc Party, Rival Schools, even Ride. The more you listen, the more you discover.
And now there’s the debut EP, five songs that should be a launch pad for an adventure that will take Mercy Years across Canada and hopefully even further. It might turn into something magical. It might not. But it’s going to be fun to see what happens. - Robert Collins, Music Correspondent, CTV BC
Discography
Debut EP release: Late April 2012
Photos
Bio
Born out of Vancouver’s coffee scene, Mercy Years is a collaboration from parts of British Columbia, the Canadian Prairies and London, England. Euphoric melodies and driving rhythms reflect their expansive origins; hints of the UK post-punk scene are melded with Cascadian indie-rock textures resulting in a stirring wall of sound.
The initial spark was an answer to a Craigslist ad for musicians in autumn 2009. Then came a failed attempt at formation, leaving guitarists Nick Russell and Adam Sharp to assemble a collection of songs over the next ten months, strong on their own but begging for additional instrumentation. Benjamin Mott found employment at the same café as Adam and, with the help of a shared love of Bloc Party and Broken Social Scene, secured a spot as third guitarist. Building on the momentum of a new member, as well as a rough basement demo of their first song “I Blew Overboard”, the trio recruited Jamison Gladysz on drums and Matt Gostelow on bass, both veterans of the Vancouver coffee scene themselves. Knowing that their songs were written with a female vocalist in mind, Hannah Walker, yet another local barista, was added to the mix.
Mercy Years has spent the last eight months developing their local reputation and playing venues including the Biltmore Cabaret, the Railway Club, the Yale Hotel and the Cobalt. Enlisting the help of old friend/new producer Cam Tatham, they have recently finished recording their debut EP at Tugboat Place, the personal studio of one time indie pioneer Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat). Set to be released on their own label at the end of April and with a tour of western Canada taking place in May, the band has enlisted the help of Laura Genschorek on keyboards and vocals to help them realize the in-studio additions to their songs. The ball is well and truly rolling…
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