“For much of Mercy’s duration, it’s as though John Cale is participating from a supernatural plain. This striking tonal sensibility welcomes the listener with the airy opener and remains for its entirety. The Welsh artist is enveloped by twinkling textures, the reverb applied to his vocals (‘Marilyn Monroe’s Legs (beauty elsewhere)’, ‘Noise of You’) further conjures a spectral image of our protagon”
“Mercy is John Cale refusing to go away quietly”
“The Velvet Underground co-founder's first album in a decade features collaborations with innovative new artists and songs about his legendary peers”
“On an often chilly album full of unexpected collaborations and smeared with apocalyptic terror, the 80-year-old art-rock legend grapples with the need for human connection.”
“Last year, a remarkable rock’n’roll time capsule came to light. Unheard for more than 50 years, Lou Reed’s acoustic demos for his soon-to-be band – the Velvet Underground – were released, revealing one of the most important cultural partnerships of the 20th century in its infancy. If that claim sounds inflated, as well as motivating a great many taboo-busting creatives prone to wearing shades, the”
