Vera Blue - “Mercurial” Album Review

Story posted November 4, 2022 in Arts & Entertainment by Isabel Sweet.

Celia Pavey, better known as Vera Blue, dropped her album, “Mercurial” on Oct. 28. This is her second album following “Perennial” released in 2017. She started her musical journey on the second season of “The Voice Australia” singing a song by Simon and Garfunkel. From there, her popularity rose.

Born in Forbes, Australia, Blue is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter. Her main genre is considered folk-inspired. This album’s songs consisted of a mix of upbeat and ballad pop. The title “Mercuria,” meaning subject to changes in mood, truly reflects the themes of the album itself.

Each of this album’s songs has a different message, focusing on various stages of life. For example, “Feel Better” is about life struggles while “Mermaid Avenue” is about a bad break-up. It is mainly relatable for people between the ages of 18 through 29 because of these particular themes.

She has a way with words which effectively tells a story through song. In “Alright Now” the line, “I take every day as progress” is saying that people learn every day. There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as you learn from them. “Feel Better” has an impactful lyric, “In a quarter life crisis” that sets the tone for the entire song. This girl just wants to live her life, but she feels surrounded by issues everywhere.

“I thought I’d name my children after you” is part of the song “Mermaid Avenue.” It’s about a hard break-up in which she believed they’d have a future together, making this lyric extremely emotional. Lastly, “Red Rose” contains the line, “You gave me a red rose to show your love for me.” The red rose becomes an important theme in this track.

One element that made “Everything is Wonderful” brilliant was its chorus. Throughout the song she talks about everything she’s keeping inside. All the chaos and pressure that she pretends is okay. When it comes to the chorus a tension begins to build and the production gets chaotic. It parallels her lyrics nicely.

Another thing worth mentioning is the staccato-style lines in her music. She forms full sentences but breaks them up to make the rhythm consistent. A great example of this would be “Lethal.” The entire chorus is broken up, but it makes the song more fluid.

Something else that stood out about Blue’s music was that it’s technologically influenced. Although there are instruments like bass and piano, it has a lot of technological enhancements. The use of technology has become popular in today’s culture. However, this tends to overshadow the idea of true music.

To round out her talents, Blue’s falsetto is very impressive. Additionally, she has a similar voice to Halsey making it much harder to sing in the correct pitch. In contrast, in her song, “The Curse” she sings a ballad with powerful notes like Adele. Being able to sing that wide of a vocal range is a gift.

Overall, this album was a great listen.
The lyrics were masterful, the rhythms were unique and the use of few instruments made it stand out. Next time a “quarter life crisis” arises, just hit shuffle on Vera Blue’s “Mercurial” and sing it out.

Rating: 9/10

Reviewer’s Favorite Song(s): “Feel Better”
Reviewer’s Least Favorite Song(s): “Trust Fall”

Isabel Sweet is a first-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email ips5219@psu.edu.