Mercy by Armand Hammer & The Alchemist opens with a cold precision that immediately stakes its claim: spare, eerie production surrounds lyrics that catalogue decay, survival and casual cruelty. Across the album critics single out songs like Nil by Mouth, Dogeared (feat. Kapwani) and California Games (feat. Earl Sweatshirt) as the clearest examples of the record’s tense economy - moments where Elucid and Billy Woods pair mordant, surreal imagery with Alc’s minimalist, noir-ish loops.
The critical consensus, drawn from four professional reviews and a consensus score of 82.5, emphasizes Mercy’s mastery of mood over flash. Reviewers from Pitchfork and The Quietus praise the mournful-paranoid tension and creeping insidiousness of tracks such as Nil by Mouth and No Grabba, while AllMusic and The Line of Best Fit highlight calmer revelations in Dogeared and the nostalgic relief of California Games. Recurring themes across reviews include spiritual metaphors, historical and political resonance, everyday violence, and a recurring sense of hunger and survival, all underscored by production darkness and tension.
Perspectives vary in tone but not in focus: some critics celebrate the album’s restraint and formal precision, arguing the best tracks unsettle by proximity rather than spectacle; others note occasional bleakness that can verge on oppressive. Still, the balance of praise positions Mercy as one of Armand Hammer and The Alchemist’s most cohesive collaborations, a record where brutal subject matter and minimal sonics cohere into memorable, often unsettling songs.
Read on for full reviews and track-by-track notes that unpack Mercy’s small mercies and sustained unease in the duo’s catalog.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Nil by Mouth
2 mentions
"As ELUCID deadpans on ‘Nil By Mouth’, “everything justified when you’re starving right?”"— The Quietus
California Games
1 mention
"“California Games” unfolds like a ’70s psychedelic soul epic, flutes and wordless vocals intertwining over a splashy groove, wailing up at the heavens."— Pitchfork
Calypso Gene
1 mention
"“Calypso Gene” could’ve been unearthed from some lost trove of Dungeon Family recordings, dipping into that collective’s gospel and funk-tinged waters;"— Pitchfork
As ELUCID deadpans on ‘Nil By Mouth’, “everything justified when you’re starving right?”
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Laraaji
Peshawar
Calypso Gene (feat. Silka & Cleo Reed)
Glue Traps (feat. Quelle Chris)
Scandinavia
Nil by Mouth
Dogeared (feat. Kapwani)
Crisis Phone (feat. Pink Siifu)
Moonbow
No Grabba
u know my body
Longjohns (feat. Quelle Chris & Cleo Reed)
California Games (feat. Earl Sweatshirt)
Super Nintendo
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
AllMusic finds the best songs on Mercy to be vividly realized moments where Armand Hammer's bleak wit meets the Alchemist's hazy loops: "Laraaji" opens with a crashing psych-rock breakdown that sets the tone, while "Calypso Gene" (featuring Silka and Cleo Reed) becomes a jazzier centerpiece exploring spiritual and political waters. The review singles out the woozy nightmare of "Scandinavia" and the more optimistic "Dogeared" as essential listens for their references to starvation and survival. "Crisis Phone" (with Pink Siifu) is described as haunting and noir-ish, and the lighter closing pair—"California Games" (feat. Earl Sweatshirt) and "Super Nintendo"—offer relief with effortless flow and nostalgic synths.
Key Points
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"Calypso Gene" stands out for its jazzier exploration of spiritual and political themes.
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The album's core strengths are its inventive production, sharp lyricism, and willingness to depict grim subject matter engagingly.
Themes
Critic's Take
Liam Inscoe-Jones singles out Mercy’s quieter wounds with the same unnerving clarity he brings to its best songs: ‘Dogeared’ emerges as the gentle heart — a story-song about poetry and small mercies — while tracks like ‘Nil by Mouth’ and the Earl-featured ‘California Games’ supply the album’s most unnerving moments. The reviewist’s measured, descriptive tone insists the best tracks on Mercy trade outright pyrotechnics for creeping insidiousness, making ‘Dogeared’, ‘Nil by Mouth’ and ‘California Games’ the standout moments. This is an album whose best songs unsettle by proximity, not spectacle, and the critic’s voice finds that paradox repeatedly throughout Mercy.
Key Points
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‘Dogeared’ is the album’s emotional center, pairing a simple story with resonant questions about the role of the poet.
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Mercy’s core strengths are its ability to render political cruelty as quotidian unease and to balance visceral imagery with moments of small domestic tenderness.
Themes
Critic's Take
Amen’s Mercy review reads like a careful exegesis of Armand Hammer’s best tracks, singling out “Peshawar”, “Glue Traps” and “California Games” as moments where the duo’s language and The Alchemist’s minimal, elegiac production cohere. He lingers on “Peshawar” for its otherworldly piano and associative lyrics, and on “Glue Traps” for its blunt economic metaphors, while “California Games” gets noted for a rarer ebullience and Earl’s contrasting guest spot. In Amen’s measured, analytical voice, the best songs on Mercy are those where lyrical incendiary force meets precisely wielded, spare sonics that amplify rather than smother the verbal fireworks.
Key Points
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Peshawar is best because its otherworldly piano and associative lyrics crystallize the album’s themes.
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Mercy’s core strengths are incendiary, surreal lyricism and The Alchemist’s spare, elegant soundscapes.
Themes
Critic's Take
Dash Lewis finds Mercy to be Armand Hammer and The Alchemist’s slickest, most exacting collaboration yet, singling out songs like "No Grabba" and "Nil by Mouth" as central exemplars of its mournful-paranoid tension. He emphasizes the trio’s shared vision and Alc’s harrowing production—the best tracks on Mercy are those where the sustained piano and nervy drums let woods and Elucid’s piercing bars land hardest. For readers asking "best songs on Mercy," Lewis points to the funereal march of "No Grabba" and the combustible images in "Nil by Mouth" as the album’s clearest, most affecting moments.
Key Points
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The best song(s) (e.g., “No Grabba”) combine Alc’s dark, sustained production with woods and Elucid’s piercing, historically charged bars.
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Mercy’s core strength is its pervasive tension—production choices and lyrical urgency that make historical violence feel immediate.
Themes
