It’s been a busy week for Thornhill. Last night (September 16th), the metal-and-pop-expanding Aussie force began a North American tour with Sleep Token. Now, the act have unveiled a new single called “Mercia,” which arrives in a scenic, Down Under-shot music video co-directed by vocalist Jacob Charlton.
Charlton had previously teased the music video in his recent interview with Revolver, noting that he had spent that day scouting hillside locations for an upcoming project. Indeed, the “Mercia” video puts said greenspace to work, with Charlton and co-director Joe Pisani presenting us with the sight of four women entwining for a pastoral circle dance.
Thornhill, meanwhile, lunge into a dark, Deftones-coded groove from inside a plush, yet bat-infested hotel space. Charlton croons of pain, emotional torment and malice, and of sinking into an existential abyss. The tune swirls from hypnagogic heavy dreamgaze towards a primal, fretboard-bowing breakdown — which gets Charlton screaming.
“‘Mercia’ is a song about loving someone lost in their own abyss,” the singer explained in a statement. “It speaks to the ache of giving everything—warmth, devotion, even the hope of carrying their pain—only to be met with silence and defences, by ‘vaults’ and ‘ice’.
“At its heart, the song is about the futility of trying to heal what resists healing, and the way that struggle leaves you altered, hardened, and haunted. By the close, the speaker admits they are sinking under the weight of their beloved’s specter. They’ve been hardened by the experience — so much so that they can’t offer mercy anymore.”
You can explore the depths of Thornhill’s new single via the player up above. “Mercia” is likewise on streamer care of UNFD.
As for Thornhill’s sold out tour supporting Sleep Token, the trip began last night at Duluth, Georgia’s Gas South Arena, and continues tonight (September 17th) at Sunrise, Florida’s FLA Live Arena.
You’ll find the fuller date breakdown here.