On Friday October 28th, Vera Blue will release Mercurial, one of the years most anticipated Australian albums. Today she gifts us with ‘Mermaid Avenue’ a dazzling tapestry of glittering electronica and delicate ethereal vocals, we are accustomed to with Vera Blue.Â
10-track Mercurial will include the electropop ballad ‘The Curse’, as well as new single ‘Mermaid Avenue’, and is available to pre-order and pre-save today.
Vera Blue says of her new single “Mermaid Avenue is a song about a love that didn’t work out. The bitter-sweet emotions that come with all the fond memories of the relationship but the heartbreak of a dream that will never happen.
Mermaid Avenue is a beautiful street in South Coogee in Sydney with enormous beach houses overlooking the ocean. I find myself there on walks at sunset admiring the architecture and views. I feel that Mermaid Avenue can also a metaphor for a place where everything is perfect, full of adventure and love. Or a dream you create of the future, a beautiful life with someone. “
Soon after the release of her gold certified debut Perennial album, Vera Blue began working on her follow-up album. Having faced heartbreak and pain during its conception, her next stage was set to be one of reinvention, and while several singles released over the last 2 years hinted towards what would come next, no one could have foreseen what the coming years would hold.
Faced with writer’s block and diagnoses of both depression and anxiety, Vera Blue began channeling her journey into her new body of work as a means of healing and therapy. Inspired by the pain of days gone by, and the quiet confidence of what was to come, Mercurial harnesses this raw emotion to present itself as a piece of work that is visceral, messy, and ultimately beautiful.
Mercurial – itself a term indicating a sudden shift in focus and mood – slowly took shape as a fitting follow-up to Perennial with the aid of longtime collaborators Andy and Thom Mak.
Musically, the 10-track album sees Vera Blue presenting a sound more in line with her live shows. Armed with organic instrumentation, heavier bass, and the thickness and energy of electronic influences, it sounds more akin to her trademark performances, adding a sense of energy, urgency, and authenticity to its delivery.
Though her previous work was informed by heartbreak and pain, Mercurial is the sound of Celia Pavey aka Vera Blue evolving as both a human and an artist, facing the unexpected ability to change, and discovering herself at the height of her powers. It’s the realisation that emotions are a superpower, it’s harnessing the negative to discover the positives, it’s embracing the mercurial nature of sentiment, and it’s finding that comfort in the discomfort of evolving.
Arguably her heaviest and most surprising work to date, Mercurial reminds the world that there is a light at the end of the tunnel contrasting extreme lows with the cathartic highs.
MERCURIAL TRACK-LISTING
1. Alright Now
2. Lethal
3. Feel Better
4. The Curse
5. Heart Still Works
6. Everything Is Wonderful
7. Wherever We Go
8. Mermaid Avenue
9. Trust Fall
10. Red Rose
Vera Blue will be taking her new album on the road for her national tour which starts on the Gold Coast on Thursday 3rd November, the heads to Brisbane, Newcastle, Geelong, Melbourne, Perth and finishing up in Sydney in mid-December.
Well known as a music festival show-stopper Vera Blue will be performing at Beyond The Valley, Unwind In the Vines, Stonefest 2022 as well as supporting Flume in Adelaide and Hobart on his National Tour in Nov/Dec.
Watch the ‘Mermaid Ave’ Lyric Video:
VERA BLUE
National Album Tour
Thurs Nov 3 – Miami Marketta – Gold Coast, QLD
Fri Nov 4 – Fortitude Music Hall – Brisbane, QLD
Sat Nov 5 – Civic Theatre – Newcastle, NSW
Fri Nov 11 – Costa Hall – Geelong, VIC
Sat Nov 12 – Forum Theatre – Melbourne, VIC
Thurs Dec 8 – Ice Cream Factory – Perth, WA
Sat Dec 17 – Enmore Theatre – Newtown, NSW
Supporting FLUME on his PALACES WORLD TOUR
Wed Nov 30 – Adelaide Entertainment Centre – Adelaide
Fri Dec 2 – Regatta Grounds – Hobart
Oct 15th – Stonefest 2022 – Canberra ACT
Oct 1st – Unwind The Vines Festival – Gerringong NSW
28 Dec – 1 Jan – Beyond The Valley Festival – Barunah Plains VIC
Vera Blue
Mercurial LP Out Friday Oct 28th
Includes New Single Mermaid Avenue & The Curse
(Island Records Australia/UMA)