Artist to Watch Mercy Arms, Playing Mercury Lounge Monday

We wrote about the great new band out of Australia Mercy Arms a bit ago. Now, they are coming to the US to make their live debut at the Mercury Lounge in NY on Monday at 8:00pm. Mercy Arms have been low profile in the US to-date, but we expect that to change fairly quickly. The band is coming off recent dates overseas with White Denim, Cut Copy, Ladyhawke and Amazing Baby. While we'll forgive them for sharing the stage with Amazing Baby, it's great to see them teaming up with some great bands.

More about Mercy Arms after the jump...


The band has picked up a single release on the prestigious UK label Loog Records. Run by ex NME editor James Oldham, the label has seen debut releases in the past from The Bravery, The Horrors and Patrick Wolf. Oldham signed UK sensation Duffy last year, and was previously most known as the UK journalist first to pick up on both The Strokes and The Vines.

Mercy Arms' sound is dark and hazy - at times, recalling current UK fave Glasvegas or friends Cut Copy. Of course, there is also a strong connection to the UK and American post-punk bands of the 80s. The vocals are strong and melodic, cutting through the fuzzed-out mix. We gotta also say there is nothing like a well placed tambourine to brighten up a track. Mercy Arms' sound and look give them the ability to garner fans of the rock, indie and dance scenes. Without sounding overly commercial, their music is accessible and comes from a solid rock background. It's always hard to break bands in the US, and it remains to be seen whether Mercy Arms will be able to move past that, and find success stateside.Yet, they have as good a chance as any other band out there now to do so.