Wild Belle singer Natalie Bergman embraces faith on her debut solo record Mercy for Third Man Records. What faith you may ask? The answer has a multitude of dimensions. Faith in her connection to family. Faith in something beyond the grasp of her perception and contemplation that hold the world together. Faith in her connection to a broader human community. But most of all, faith in her self and her love for others.
Following the death of her father in an incident involving a drunk driver, Natalie felt cut adrift. She decided to regroup in a monastery in New Mexico where she participated in a silent retreat. There she discovered something in her that flow from without. A centering in space and time and belief. A grounding in the world that she had not felt since the loss of her father. It was this long, blossoming epiphany that inspired her album Mercy, an examination of belief as it can fortify one’s life against the sour winds of loss and the savage bluster of tragedy.
While there are numerous references specifically to Jesus on Mercy, an allegiance to Christian morality and teachings is not prerequisite to entering into the space Natalie has opened up for you on this album, or the encounter with a type of solace that can be acquired within. While these songs do have specific meanings and interpretations for Natalie herself, references to mythic or religious figures from the standpoint of the audience should be understood metaphorically, in a Joseph Campbell sense. They are meant to be guidings and spiritual mentors, not kings for whom you swear an oath. These songs, and their characters, are meant to be the beam of a lighthouse, guiding you to shore. Don’t get hung up on the specifics if they are not applicable to you. Natalie is seeking a higher truth.
Beyond the substance of the album, the way in which Natalie conveys her message is remarkably elegant. Soft, pliant, buttery tones that seep into the cracks of your being and drizzle down into its core. The touchstones for the music reachs back to the confessional quality of early ’60s soul and country gospel, presenting devotional passages that are intimate and inviting, summoning for the listener a communal light that illuminates the potential for an all-encompassing embrace with your fellow human subjects.
You’re not going to find a more tender enticement to throw off the yoke of your fears and clasp hold of the love that is ready and waiting to be shared with you in your life, than the caressing invocations to be found on Mercy.
Buy and stream Mercy below via Bandcamp:
Mercy is available on vinyl via Third Man records here.
