Steve Lacy of the genre-spanning band The Internet has returned with “Mercury,” his first new song in three years. The self-produced tune heads the release of his forthcoming sophomore album, Gemini Rights, set to be released this summer on RCA Records.
“Mercury,” a current invention of Brazilian jazz-funk, inserts vocal features that are similar to those of Maurice White from the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire. Like the work of his early material, Lacy unifies multi-colored arrangements of the past with his exciting writing.
Here, Lacy focused his storytelling on the two-sided nature of his zodiac sign and how it affects his thinking in maintaining and building a relationship with whomever he desires.
Knowing that he’s multi-layered and complex, he just wants if this particular person will love him through all his madness. Lacy lightly sings, “You think I’m two-faced, I can name twenty-three / My layers, all these sides / Could you stick by for the ride? / It’s a thrill / And I don’t even know how to feel / Might be too real.”
For the official music video, Lacy put its vision in the hands of director Rubberband.
In an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music, Lacy ran through the creating process of “Mercury.”
“The track was done for a year and then I didn’t write to it till like a couple of weeks before we finished the album,” Lacy told Lowe about this new single. “All of the singles, they have a dual side, they all switch up, so like Mercury’s the first half and then the second half is something else, and then the singles do the same thing.”
“Mercury” is one of the ten songs lifted from Gemini Rights. Lacy prefers to drop compact albums that make for a digestible listen. “I don’t want to take people’s lives. I want them to make a decision to want to keep playing it again. I try my best to make my music to where you want to do that again,” he shared with Lowe.
Gemini Rights is the follow-up to 2019’s Apollo XXI. The 12-track album, nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2020, featured the songs “N Side” and “Playground.”
After touring Apollo XXI across the world in fall 2019, Lacy kept a low profile. He did recently team up with Fousheé and Ravyn Lenae for their latest works.
Stream Steve Lacy’s new song “Mercury” below.
