Hasten Mercy is an unusual project. It is an outgrowth of the Head Fake project, a neo-80’s music group. Their avowed intent to revamp the New Wave genre using modern technology has attracted a growing fanbase but one of its members, Michael Baker, isn’t content. His new musical outlet Hasten Mercy utilizes modern technology as well as retro synthesizers yet embraces fundamentals such as pop/country influences alongside strong melodic virtues. It is a winning mix for the project thus far.
URL: https://www.headfakemusic.com/
Hasten Mercy’s self-titled three-song EP opens with “Star You Are”. It’s the collection’s longest track at a hair over three and half minutes and never taxes listener’s patience. Baker builds the song in a minimalist fashion by never allowing the electronic instruments to overshadow all else. It is, however, dominated by bass and percussion for the most part. Electric piano is ever-present though and carries the day musically for Hasten Mercy. Baker surrounds much of the song’s sound in echo/reverb, particularly the piano, and it brings welcome atmospherics rather than sounding like an affectation.
“These Things” has a much more theatrical slant. The spartan pulse and fat bass forming the song’s foundation leaves a lot of space in the arrangement but plays well to the ear. It has an even more skeletal melody than the opener, but it is a definite presence, nonetheless. Baker’s words are intelligent and cannily molded to service the music and vice versa. His vocal for “I Break Everything” does not rely on as much double tracking as the prior cut but its limited use here enhances the overall result. It has a muted air without ever sounding like it’s mired in despair.
The mid-tempo pace of the finale gives it a meditative edge as well. You wait for Baker to shift musical gears and the moment never really arrives. Hasten Mercy, however, does add some low-key yet meaningful embellishments along the way that shape our hearing of the song. “I Break Everything” will be the absolute favorite for many.
This side project, instead, stands on its own as a viable vehicle for Baker’s musical creativity. He’s traveled countless external and internal miles since his days as a budding law student but the same spark of inspiration powering the music of his youth hums as loudly today. Many listeners will hear this trio of tracks and hope Baker continues developing the artistic vision he’s tapped into. It’s more than a curiosity.
It’s proof that exercising the full extent of our creativity brings fulfillment. It isn’t happiness, per se, but instead the relief that comes with getting something pressing off your chest. There’s an audible sense of urgency in this EP, its emotive vocal, its thoughtful musicality, but it doesn’t develop in a cliched way. Hasten Mercy’s self-titled EP release is one of 2021’s best short-form collections and a harbinger of even greater glories to come.
Claire Uebelacker