Archives for August 2021

Mikey James, the former drummer for Longwave, is back on the scene and releasing work under a new name: Singing River. Within this career shift, James decided to jump from his old genre of power pop to an Americana feel. His latest release, “Everyday Love,” especially embodies his new chapter as Singing River. The track, exclusively premiering on American Songwriter today (August 5), will be out on all streaming platforms on August 6.

The Americana tune features James’ gritty and emotion-filled voice as he sings about longing for how the world used to feel. The lyrics amble on about missing the feeling of normalcy when society felt steady and non-chaotic. 

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The first line of the first song off of Mercy Bell’s latest EP tells you everything you need to know about this stellar record. “Plan B and a Gatorade, another Walgreens on a Sunday/Blonde hair driving getaway, so no one has to know,” – from the title track – is confrontational, wildly relevant and brilliantly executed. As Bell sings, “We can’t have a Golden Child with mud on his face.” Though, there is definitely a strong 1990s Country vibe on the record (think more Lucinda Williams and Roseanne Cash, rather than the hokey Nashville neon sound), there are also some pretty strong parallels to more contemporary fare like Lilly Hyatt and Jaime Wyatt’s phenomenal Neon Cross.

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Sit in a room when Mercy Bell is singing, and you know you’re experiencing something special. Bell’s songs are deeply intimate, asking us to bear witness to her lowest lows and soaring heights. So it makes sense that for her new album, Golden Child, which is out tomorrow, Bell is turning the focus away from herself and creating character sketches — a la ’90s country. With J.R. Bohannon at the helm for this one, Bell’s pulling out all the big guns to make sure these erstwhile characters have the musical firepower that’s their due.

In this interview, Mercy fills us in on the album and some the greatest honor of her life.

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