After a ten-year absence, Mercy Ties reemerges with their new single “Survivor’s Guilt” and the forthcoming album Reflections and Criticisms, set for release on March 28 via The Ghost Is Clear Records. The accompanying music video—assembled from tour footage shot in 2017 during their European run with Birds in Row—is available for streaming here. Pre-orders for the album can be made here.
Founded in Seattle in 2010, Mercy Ties was at the forefront of a new wave of West Coast hardcore, drawing influence from Breather Resist, Converge, pageninetynine, and Botch.
Their early sound, rooted in screamo, quickly expanded into a darker, more lethal fusion incorporating noise rock, math, sludge, and grind—a blend once described as “contorted, noise rock-indebted metalcore” by Invisible Oranges and “unsettling, unpredictable and distinctive” by Decibel Magazine.
Vocalist Andre Sanabria reflects on the hiatus: “We needed to take a break. We were all facing tensions for various reasons and needed some space. Other aspects of life were pulling us away.” During that period, guitarist Trevor Bebee turned to competitive powerlifting and drummer Chris Pereira relocated to Europe.
Now reunited, the band channels renewed focus into Reflections and Criticisms, engineered by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Sumac) and Chris Common (These Arms Are Snakes, The Mars Volta), with mastering by Brad Boatright (The Armed, Necrot). Revolver Magazine noted the single as “a quick, glumly swung crush that speaks to a particular kind of Pacific Northwest-made heaviness (think a more brooding, less mathematically groove-driven Botch). Our overall reflection and criticism for Mercy Ties… The album couldn’t come soon enough.”
Along with the release of the “Survivor’s Guilt” single and music video, the band announces its “Reflections and Criticisms Tour,” hitting the West Coast in April with Boise crushers Throes.
April 18 – Boise, ID @ Realms
April 19 – San Francisco, CA @ Neck of the Woods
April 20 – Fresno, CA @ Destructive Warehouse
April 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Genghis Cohen
April 22 – Bakersfield, CA @ 415 BKFD
April 23 – Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonial
April 24 – Eugene, OR @ Wandering Goat
April 25 – Portland, OR @ Commonwealth
April 26 – Seattle, WA @ The Black Lodge
