Shannon Hawley – Mercy (2023)
Inspired by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Patti Smith, Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen, singer-songwriter Shannon Hawley has a nostalgic flair to her old-school rock sound. Using music as a catharsis for most of her adult life, Hawley understands the significance of expressing emotion through a sonic palette; hence being open to provocative themes in her songs. Featured on notable blogs and playlists like Plastic Magazine, Artisti Online, JPGChief and Indie Underrated, Hawley is reaching audiences on an international scale. The latest addition to her discography is the single ‘Mercy’.
Following almost a decade of silence regarding music releases (or at least according to Spotify), Shannon Hawley returns to the scene with ‘Our History’ and ‘Mercy’. The second single of 2023, ‘Mercy’ adopts a nostalgic rock sound tinged with elements of folk throughout the melody. Interestingly enough, while the track steps directly out of the 1980s, it has a contemporary edginess making it perfect for modern-day indie-rock playlists. Bold guitars meld with pounding drums in the arrangement, but it is the vocals that really ensnare your senses.
Performed in collaboration with producer and vocalist Hector Gundlach (also known as Nekter Gun), ‘Mercy’ has a vocal interplay between the female and male characters. Slight comparisons to Kate Bush and Joni Mitchell exist in Hawley’s dulcet tones with Gundlach bringing a Tom Waits meets Bob Marley style to the song. It is this combination of genres all harmonically woven together in a sonic tapestry that makes ‘Mercy’ something different.
While the melody can hold its own, it is the lyricism of ‘Mercy’ that illustrates the profoundness of the track. Digging deep into her ancestors’ experiences, particularly the loss of a loved one, Hawley explains that “…we all need more than a little mercy and grace in his human life. We all are called to something; to be ourselves, to heal ourselves, to love ourselves, to connect to our truth and feel the connectedness of all things. This is a grief song, which is to say, it is a praise song. A praise song for the experience of being alive at all…”
For more from Shannon Hawley, check out her official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
