Genre 10 - Emo/Post Hardcore Albums: #6 Have Mercy

David Ames digs through his music collection to count down his top ten favourite albums in a specific music genre. For his second genre choice, David gets emotional about Emo/Post Hardcore. At #6, Have Mercy with A Place of Our Own...



The next genre on this list takes me back to my junior high and high school days. Few genres can better express the feelings of an angsty teenager than Emo/post hardcore. A lot of bands get lumped into this genre so be prepared for some music you may not necessarily feel are good representatives of the style. Like bands that were lumped together with the grunge era, many bands that came out in the late 90s and early 2000s were associated with this movement. For my purposes here today, I am talking about a group of albums that were influential to me at that time and from then on. Emotional and usually clever/intelligent lyricism is a staple of this genre, along with punk and pop influences. There are even elements of screamo present on this list. Hopefully you will recognize some of these albums and if you’re like me, the part of your brain that recognizes nostalgia will be buzzing with activity .

Find the other albums in David's Genre 10 Emo/Post Hardcore



#6: Have Mercy – A Place of Our Own



Have Mercy is the only band on this list that released its first album after 2012. The Baltimore four-piece was someone I stumbled across at Warped Tour and immediately bought everything I could get my hands on. They aren’t necessarily emo/post-hardcore but they carry the obvious influence of bands like Brand New and Bright Eyes with their sound. Have Mercy recently has become one of my favorite bands and while their first and third albums are great and contain wonderful tracks like “Let’s Talk About Your Hair,” “The Earth Pushed Back,” “Coexist,” and “Good Christian Man,” their second album is spectacular from start to finish. Brian Swindle’s ability to lay the human condition bare over music is impressive and his lyrics are both incredible and utterly devastating. Also, I would personally gargle bleach if I could develop a voice like Swindle’s [Editor's note - do NOT try this at home]. I am going to leave you with some great lyrics from this album:



“When all's said and done, you're scared and I'll hold you

I'll tell you that it's okay

As I dig my nails and teeth in the pavement

You'll be searching for something to say

If we stay, there's nothing we can create.”





Singles:



“Two Years”







“Howl”







Best non-single track:



“Nails and Teeth in Pavement”









Image - Amazon