For his follow-up to the moderately successful “I Trust You To Kill Me,” Rocco DeLuca returns with “Mercy,” a sophisticated and at times haunting new release that substantially raises his creditability as an artist to watch.
Many of DeLuca’s songs exhibit a smoldering intensity that swirls around and develops into a full-blown assault. This dramatic tension is most evident on “The Painting” and “I Trust You To Kill Me,” a leftover title track from the first CD. But the lead track, “Mercy,” is somewhat out of character with the rest of the CD. Backed by UK trio Keane, the song has more in common with the down-tempo chill of Zero 7, and like the first chapter in a lengthy novel, the track provides the basic template upon which the rest of the album will grow. And grow it does.
For example, “Junky Valentine” is one of those songs that sound like it could have been recorded by a less-than-stable soul in a small room … in the dark. DeLuca’s breathy lyrics and the mysterious chiming keyboards add up to a heartfelt plea that’s both bluesy and slightly off-kilter.
With vocals that reside in the same falsetto neighborhood as Jeff Buckley, DeLuca sounds positively vicious on “Save Yourself” and “Bright Lights (Losing Control).” After an ambient intro, “Bright Lights” is all about running headlong into a wall of anger and losing control. The mood is set through the emotional verses until the chorus explodes and DeLuca’s resonator guitar takes off. Both tracks will clearly be concert highlights.
All 11 tracks on the CD were produced by five-time Grammy winner Daniel Lanois (U2, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan), and his trademark fingerprints are all over ballads like “Lilja” and “When You Learn To Sing.” Like everything else on the CD, Lanois gives the songs a cinematic quality by allowing just the right amount of atmospheric weirdness to unfold as the track progresses.
Having made an in-store appearance with actor Kiefer Sutherland here in Northeastern Pa. a few years ago hasn’t hurt the artist’s popularity, but with an album as solid as “Mercy,” DeLuca no longer needs Jack Bauer to save him.
Rating: W W W W
