Album Review: mercy by Trey Anastasio
Review written by guest writer Brenden La Raja. Brenden is a Boston-based musician; you can follow him on Instagram at @blr.mus and check out his work on Spotify under his artist profile, “Brenden La Raja”.
mercy — Trey Anastasio
Release date: March 11, 2022
Record Label: Rubber Jungle Records
Trying to find words to express how I feel about Trey Anastasio’s recent release mercy has been… uncharacteristically difficult for me. Being a very avid fan of Phish, Anastasio’s arguably more famous and appreciated rock group, I thought I would find myself more impressed by the jump into acoustic guitar wonderland from the get go. Anastasio’s previous solo albums were always very energetic and beautifully constructed sonically and musically, though their energy tended to come from their roots in contemporary electric convention. That said, the acoustic pieces, or those more acoustically minded, particularly from aforementioned Phish (see the gorgeous instrumental “The Inlaw Josie Wales”, and lyrically profound “Lifeboy” and “Sleep” to name a few) are always, in my opinion, the show stoppers of a lot of their albums. They distinctly transport the listener to an immersive soundscape of vibrancy and depth — imaginary worlds of brilliance and complexity, built by their genius musical composition. However, this album initially left a somewhat weird taste in my mouth. It didn’t feel particularly memorable, it didn’t exactly move me, almost falling into the background of whatever activity I found myself doing. Despite the short runtime, many of the songs seemed to drag on longer than some of Phish’s iconic 30 to 40 minutes of mixolydian noodling. It didn’t bring me into the world I expected to find. I’m not going to pretend I’m some professional at this; I mostly write for fun to satisfy getting my thoughts out on paper (and at the insistence of my friend, one Elsa H. Scott). So here I am, sitting and listening to the album on repeat, one last time, in order to satisfy both her desire to endlessly pester me for her damned article, and my need to end my procrastinate tendencies. With a little bit of liquid inspiration, though mostly used to bear what I believe to be a very weak addition to a geniuses masterful repertoire, I hope to accomplish giving you, dear reader, a detailed account of the music within, as well as to bring some thoughts to the table that are a little more off the cuff, and not filtered through the veil of overthought.
“a little more time”
The album opens, to my gauge, very strongly with the song “a little more time”. Musically it feels very open and is very representative of Anastasio’s acoustic sound. Chord and melody blend together in an interesting way here, where he’s very obviously playing barre chords but also throws in melody lines and riffs in order to keep the sound from going stale or sounding sonically and dynamically flat. Additionally, he incorporates using open voicings of chords, which are fingerings that incorporate open strings, wherever he can, which makes the piece feel like it can stretch out and make itself comfortable. The instrumental interlude and subsequent false ending is also incredibly satisfying; it can only really make one's heart and soul feel full. The build-up of this interlude is enthralling, and having the cliffhanger after said build-up is an excellent decision on Anastasio’s part, as it can be seen to play a part in the narrative story of the tune.
Lyrically, the song has a very wistful and relatable narrative, depicting the journey of one taking inventory on their wrongdoings and then doing the emotional work of accepting, forgiving and moving forward from them. In the same vein, the narrative can be applied to feelings of reflection or rumination, finding and understanding that although one seeks to reach a specific place, whether it be with a person, event or themselves, we just might not be there. Looking back, the build-up of the interlude gives one a feeling of leaping into the unknown, then hitting the clear blue waters of understanding: we still need just a little more time. The combination of both of these things brings to your ear a song that feels like it's there to wrap you in its arms and give the long overdue hug Dad never did. In doing so, it feels honest; it perfectly conveys Anastasio’s incredible skill of being both affectionate and vulnerable through his music.
“mercy”
“mercy”, unfortunately, is the start of where we see issues. It sets itself up to be an interesting piece, but the ostinato — which is a continually repeated musical phrase — that it's built upon starts to feel repetitive as the song goes on. Breaks where we see chord structure are well received, because otherwise, what my drunk mind perceives as ‘that goddamn droning’ just doesn’t seem to let up. And although yes, the chorus (if you can call it that) dips into a minor sound and gives it a little bit of fluff to work with, it is too little, too late, and not very inventive. Pairing these issues with the lyrics creates an overwhelming feeling of cheesiness. The veil of poeticism that lyrics are usually cloaked with is haphazardly strewn across Anastasio's words; and it’s rather tattered and worn through with gaping holes that he clearly attempted to patch, but to no avail. As an amateur lyric writer, I find this painfully evident in my own work, and it's just unfortunate to see in the work of someone I take genuine inspiration from.
“flying blind”
These issues continue, but are somewhat rectified in the following tune “flying blind”. Musically, it is a little more interesting, and lyrically it feels a little more naturally mystified. Melodically, the middle of the song feels more unique, and stands well next to “a little more time”. Its chord structure is inventive and gleefully familiar to that of Anastasio’s other work. It sounds more typical of what I have come to expect of Anastasio and is an excellent piece of music. That said, its return at the conclusion to the musical idea that the song begins with is a misstep. The consistent need for Anastasio to inject melodic bass lines between his chord choices is something that has become more apparent in his style; while it works, it does not apply well to every idea he tries it with. I’d say this song is an example of a good application, and ending on beautiful harmonics and a very weird chord voicing did bring a grin to my face.
“blazing down the twisted wire”
“blazing down the twisted wire” suffers from my biggest pet peeve in music — the melody lines of the instruments matching the melody of the vocals. There's very little distinction between parts and it just makes it feel like Trey is having a hard time playing melodies that differ from that of his vocal melody. What little distinction we do see, pinch harmonics (those bell sounds), could be better applied in different places and are generally done with very little deftness, to the point where it feels like either the vocals or guitar are not in time, and we can’t tell which. The whistle interlude suffers from having the same structure as the beginning instrumental from a Phish favorite of mine, “Petrichor”, and it’s so painfully evident that I murmured, quite literally, “oh shut the fuck up” to my speakers. The most relieving part is the middle and ending, where we’re met with an actual chord progression and respectively the same chords played higher up on the guitar neck. It feels a little more like home, or scooting through the Italian countryside in a train, for some reason. Although, with the repeated phrase of the chorus, “someone is in my head right now”, and the ever-changing sound, I wonder whether the song is just one big manic episode.
“6 1/2 minutes”
“6 ½ minutes” at just under four minutes, seems to revitalize this project. Despite not having a lot of motion in its chords, and having blunt lyrics, it does not suffer. It reads, much like “a little more time”, as honest and reflective. The song expresses the adventures and uncertainties of finding love —the uncertainties of the future, how we compare to the people we decide to share our lives with, and, to a degree, the fear within ourselves of how we shape up. It reads as a testament to meeting someone you find to be exemplary, and how that could be daunting, maybe even cause you to be fearful of yourself and your ability to shape up. I could be reading into it too much, but at a few drinks in I would say that this and “a little more time” are what legs, if any, this album has to stand on.
“roll like a river”
I love what “roll like a river” does musically. The chosen chords match the lyrics and narrative with an almost tragic sound. The light touch to the five chord towards the start of the tune gives it a grim tone, but as the song fleshes out it changes its tune (ha) and becomes reassuring and almost inspiring. This is evident when it follows the A minor over the lyrics “So I’ll step back from the cliff now”, to make the listener feel an undercurrent of ‘everything’s okay’. This could be a song about moving on, at least based on what the lyrics suggest, and like any good song, the lyrics and music tell the same story.
“hey stranger”
I don’t have much to say about “hey stranger”. I think this song is my least favorite song on the entire album. The song doesn’t change. Not one bit. The lyrics feel more like the rap of a prankster high on acid than that of anything with real narrative or nuance. Musically, there’s no harmonic shift; it's repetitive, and not in a good way. The whole damn album genuinely would be better without it. There are other songs of Anastasio’s that sound like this (the song “Soul Planet” matches lyrically, although that one is musically more upbeat), and I have no patience for any of them. That’s really all I have to say; let's just move on, shall we?
“arc”
“arc” begins how I expected most of this album to sound, but is soon hijacked, unfortunately, by Anastasio’s lyrics. I think it would do better as an instrumental rather than a lyrical song. Again, lyrically it’s lacking, but musically, it moves in all the right directions and sits well with me, especially during the instrumental interlude in the middle/early end. While the lyrics are good and I don’t outright dislike them, it's the songs like this that make me feel like Anastasio had a spectacular idea, but felt compelled to put lyrics to it when they had no business being there at all. In the words of my favorite scientist, Dr. Ian Malcolm of Jurassic Park fame, “... your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
“ever changing tide”
We finally arrive at the end of this musical journey with “ever changing tide”, and though it is lyrically profound, it is in no sense a song that you should end an album with (I’d say give that to “roll like a river”, but I’m not Trey). I feel it's very musically somber, and though much of this work hits a lot of solemn notes and is no doubt the overall ‘vIbE’ of this project, it doesn’t feel like what I’m looking for out of the ending of an album. It doesn’t really make an impression upon first listen, and upon my 5th or 6th, I still feel the same. Musicality, again, is the strong suit of this song, as it's not repetitive, it's not droning, and is very interesting to listen to. The guitarist in me feels saturated musically (which is generally a good sign), and again, while the lyrics are not outright bad, they just feel a bit too honest. But I’m finding upon more listens, the song is growing on me more. It’s a very depressing note to leave off on, and while I feel like you can warrant that on a project of this nature, it really just feels like we’re left with more questions than answers, no resolution which music is, by nature, all about.
Conclusion
So what’s the Tl;Dr (Too Long Didn’t Read) of this long-winded, intoxicated ramble? The album, as a whole, is quiet and reserved, but to a fault. In my opinion, and some of the Phan community (Phish’s fanbase), it's seen as quite cheesy, despite a general sense of understanding what Trey is trying to do here. It’s not meant, I don’t believe, to be reassuring outright, and speaks to whatever struggles Anastasio might be currently facing or has previously gone through. As any Phish fan knows, his personal life hasn’t been far from tumultuous, especially during his period of drug use and subsequent recovery. The few bright spots in this album (being “a little more time”, “roll like a river” and “6 ½ minutes”) are, as I’ve defined, refreshing, and the project overall could do with a bit more of these tunes, as the rest feels a bit too much like drowning one's own sorrows in someone else’s whiskey. Thankfully, I’ve had plenty of my own. While I love Anastasio’s dedication to positivity and honesty in his songwriting, when it feels forced it ruins the integrity of the music that he’s trying to create. Many of the songs would work better as purely instrumental tunes if given a little more harmonic direction. If this album were given more of a fingerstyle treatment (exemplified in “The Inlaw Josie Wales”), I feel like more of the songs would be well received, at least by me. While his earlier works seem to have created this without forceful nature, (even in the Phish discography), it's unfortunate to feel like going back and listening to 2019’s Ghosts of the Forest feels like a breath of fresh air, especially considering that project, despite its honest approach to loss, was also somewhat hit or miss. Though I will say that unlike mercy, Ghosts of the Forest has aged very well and is more palatable upon listening to it very recently. Anastasio’s acoustic work was, and it pains me to say this, a let down, and while I hope for more acoustic content from him (especially given that his acoustic touring show is spectacular and a huge inspiration for my own solo acoustic work), I hope he returns to the style a bit more informed and a little more willing to explore instrumentalization instead of lyricism.