MERCY TIES - Reflections and Criticisms

MERCY TIES returns with first new album in 10 years, Reflections and Criticisms (The Ghost Is Clear Records); "Love All the People" visualizer streaming now

Returning with its first new music in 10 years, Mercy Ties announces the March 28th release of its new album, Reflections and Criticisms, on The Ghost Is Clear Records.

A new official visualizer for the album's first single, "Love All the People," is now streaming, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fICPVhQ931s

Pre-order Reflections and Criticisms, here:

https://theghostisclearrecords.limitedrun.com/products/863124

Founded in Seattle, Washington in 2010, Mercy Ties' intense brand of hardcore initially bore trademarks of screamo, then quickly spiraled into something darker and more lethal. A review from Invisible Oranges in that early period described the sound as "contorted, noise rock-indebted metalcore"; Decibel Magazine called it "unsettling, unpredictable and distinctive." 

Citing bands like Breather Resist, Converge, Pageninetynine, and hometown heroes Botch as reference points, Mercy Ties quickly shaped itself into a standout of a new wave of West Coast hardcore that indulged freely in elements of noise rock, math, sludge, and grind. The band's initial run culminated in the 2015 release of the outstanding Proper Corruption album, followed by US and European tours with French powerhouse Birds In Row.

With a bright future ahead, Mercy Ties then promptly faded from view. "We needed to take a break," says vocalist Andre Sanabria. "We were all facing tensions for various reasons and needed some space. Other aspects of life were pulling us away." In the latter part of the decade, some band members migrated away from Seattle and away from music. Guitarist Trevor Bebee immersed himself in the world of competitive powerlifting; drummer Chris Pereira relocated to Europe.

Bebee recounts how a spark was reignited during the darkest days of the pandemic: "I started writing again. I really fell in love with a different process of writing, revising and layering parts on my laptop alone. I’d put songs to a click track and send them to Chris, our drummer. We ended up with a lot of material and made plans for him to fly out to the States to jam out the record. We got Mike Hanson, our old second guitarist, back on board, rehearsed for a few weeks and made a record. My main objective was to finally have a record I was proud of, but we inevitably talked about shows and here we are. I retired from competitive powerlifting last year, so the idea of playing shows and touring sounds much more fun than when lifting was my number one priority."

Engineered by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Sumac) and Chris Common (These Arms Are Snakes, The Mars Volta), and mastered by Brad Boatright (The Armed, Necrot), Reflections and Criticisms is not only a comeback, it is Mercy Ties' strongest work yet. Although the band members are spread between Washington, Oregon, California, and Spain, Mercy Ties bulldozes forth like one consolidated force.

At under two minutes, the album's first single, "Love All the People," is a crusher of epic proportions – an earthquaking display of tension and release, bursting with authenticity. Vocalist Andre Sanabria, also currently the frontman for Neurot Recordings ragers Ex Everything, roars: "Life is cheap / Disgust grows / We're not divine, just a joke / The paradise that we call earth, destroyed by stupidity."

Sanabria gives this statement about the song: "During a lengthy anhedonic period I wrote 'Love All the People' as a conversation to myself. The big sad passed and the words remained in a book, expunged and forgotten. The first time I listened to what would become 'Love All The People,' those same words came back to me. I opened up the notebook and everything lined up, predetermined. The lyrics themselves are self-explanatory: we're all on borrowed time, so enjoy it while you can."

"Love All the People," was first released last year on The Ghost Is Clear's 2024 label sampler. Fast becoming recognized as a pillar of the scene, located at the crossroads of hardcore and noise rock, the label boasts recent releases by Chat Pile, Whores., Rid of Me, Intercourse, Missouri Executive Order 44, Yellfire, and more. Mercy Ties' connection to TGIC runs deep: back in 2007, drummer Chris Pereira formed the band Tigon with TGIC co-founder Brian Dooley.

Stand by for tourdates.

Tracklist:
1) Preamble
2) A New Hell Everyday
3) Normative Violence
4) Survivor's Guilt
5) No Longer Human
6) Requiem
7) The Spectacle of the Scaffold
8) Giving Witness to Extinction
9) Love All the People
10) A Body in Search of a Corpse
11) Acta est Fabula, Plaudite

Lineup:
Andre Sanabria - vocals
Trevor Bebee - guitar
Mike Hanson - guitar
Chris Pereira - drums
Millie Reda - live bass

Discography:
Reflections and Criticisms (2025, The Ghost Is Clear Records)
Proper Corruption (2015, Glory Kid Ltd.)
A Dim Lit Place (2013, Glory Kid Ltd.)
Split w/ Grenades (2011, Echolalic Records)
Under the Gold-Rimmed Sky (2011, demo)

Photo by Kayla Tarkalson Bebee