MRCY - VOLUME 2 

There’s a level of polish to MRCY’s lush sound across ‘VOLUME 2’ that can’t help but beg the question: why is this not a debut album proper? It’s arguably thanks to the pair’s individual impressive discographies – vocalist Kojo Degraft-Johnson having plied his wares for the likes of Little Simz, Cleo Sol and Liam Gallagher; producer Barney Lister’s credits taking in acts including Joy Crookes, Obongjayar, Rina Sawayama and Olivia Dean – that the sheen introduced by the decidedly Marvin Gaye-like opener ‘Angels’ belies a project only just releasing their second EP.

But, as the collection progresses, its meticulously-placed sonic shifts jar somewhat: the pace change between the jam-like hypnotic ‘Man’ and the strumming ‘Sierra’ contrasts nicely, but the darkly abrasive ‘Flicker’ is curiously structured, never quite making it obvious which part - the percussive, sandpaper-like title repetition, or the soft, hookier section - is its chorus.

The impressive vocal stretch offered by ‘Wandering Attention’ unfortunately falls into pushing buttons territory, the emotion suggested by its soar presenting as a little too by-numbers as a consequence. It’s here that the duo’s relative newness shows: inarguably able to find a groove (standout ‘Wanna Know (Ontario)’ shimmers in this regard, channelling a mood that’s the hazy Sunday afternoon to JUNGLE’s party-fuelled Saturday night), they’re showing their working out in song form, and it’s a thoroughly pleasant journey to follow.