Australian artist merci, mercy has written a lot of songs about battling depression and addiction, but her second EP is nonetheless triumphant. “Too Easy” and “Black Cloud” sound like radio hits to me. And this is one artist who doesn’t need seven co-writers and producers for every track. A lot of her best songs are written solo.
“Too Easy” hooks the listener with its anthemic melody (similar to Bowie’s “Heroes”) and superb storytelling, featuring lines like these:
Maybe I should just let go
And take somebody home
So I can fuck it up with you
It’s easy to see why merci, mercy has gotten so much attention on Spotify’s RADAR program and Apple Music playlists like Heaps Indie and Pop Chill. With her multi-hued hair and amazing talent, merci, mercy seems destined to be on the covers of music magazines worldwide in the next year.
Your real name is Merceedes Thorne. Why did you decide to turn “Merceedes” into “merci, mercy” for your stage name?
Well, my nickname growing up was always Mercy with a Y, and Merceedes always gets mispronounced, which is quite annoying. So I wanted something easy for people to spell and remember. Also I’m indecisive so I chose two versions. And commas are cute.
What was happening in your life that led to writing “Too Easy”?
During the time of writing this song I was talking to my boyfriend about our relationship, and because of my insecurities, I thought it was easier to be mean to him and leave him because of my fear of heartbreak; it was scary being in love and I didn’t want him to hurt me. But I decided it was all worth it, and stuck around. We’re still together today.
The chorus of “Black Cloud” really pops…sounds like a radio hit to me. Did you have a co-writer on this song, or was it a solo effort?
I wrote it all myself 🙂 but the wonderful Chris Collins did production on the song.
On your website there’s a Winnie Crush video game to complement the song of the same name. Are you a game developer, or did you hire someone to create the game? And why do avocados feature prominently in the game instead of coconuts or something else?
I’m not a developer, but I do love gaming.. sometimes. It was super cute and it was made in a time where there were lockdowns in Australia, so we couldn’t do any video shoots or promo. Avocados are healthy, so they were like the gold coin of the game and you had to avoid donuts haha.
