The alt-soul duo MRCY is back with “Wandering Attention,” a slow-burning meditation that’s as earnest as it is audibly gripping. Drenched in nostalgic sentiment and steeped in bliss, the song allows the duo to exhibit their unparalleled talent for tying deeply personal stories to a timeless and refreshingly modern sound.
Barney Lister and Kojo Degraft-Johnson navigate the emotional landscape of their childhood, and it’s atmospheric. “Wandering Attention” feels somewhere in the territory shared between dusk and memory, alone in the center of nothing, drifting aimlessly with intent. Kojo’s voice unfurls gently, laying bare the dual existence of growing up in small-town rooms, the embrace, the close quarters, and the quiet longing for more.
MRCY’s trademark retro-modernist style is in full flow here. The warm hum of the past is buried beneath the track, classic soul textures, spare keys, and quietly baroque percussion while the production nods toward the modern edge of alternative R&B and lo-fi electronica. There’s a softness to it all, cinematic in nature, as though each sound had been meticulously painted into place with a brush.
“Wandering Attention” really soars in its openness. In a world of excessive candor that often feels empty, MRCY finds a way to be intimate without indulgence. As the duo prepares to release “Volume 2” on May 30th via Dead Oceans, “Wandering Attention” is a tantalizing taste of what’s to come music that’s not afraid of the shadows but isn’t going to let them keep the light down. It’s a tightrope that MRCY walks with poise and sincerity. This is a hushed anthem for anyone who’s ever kept an eye on the past while moving into the future. And if this track is any yardstick, “Volume 2” could be MRCY’s most dense work to date.
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