Blog Archive for May 2026

Album Of The Day: Mercy by Natalie Bergman

Album Art of Natalie Bergman's Mercy album - A grainy black-and-white photo of a white woman with blonde hair standing in front of a black background with a large white cross. The woman is wearing a white coat with a V-neck and a strap across the neck, and her arms are held out in front of her together, palms facing up. She is looking up towards the sky in the direction of the light, as the hands strike a shadow on her chest.

Released 5 years ago today, this is the first album by singer-songwriter Natalie Bergman. She performs a very unique combination of folk pop with soul and Gospel elements. Her falsetto vocals with very Gospel-centric lyrics and pop sensibilities is very unexpected but definitely worth a listen. It's not exactly what I would expect from Jack White's Third Man Records, though then again I would not expect the norm from that label either. Lyrically, you'd expect the music to be sung by a Gospel quartet or maybe some older white lady, but instead this is an attractive woman in her 30s. And musically, you expect it to be music about making love to a partner and the frivolities of life, but instead it's songs about a relationship with Jesus. It's just not what I would expect all around, but I think I like it. Check this out and you might like it too.

Release Year: 2021
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Album Of The Day
Music

Album Of The Day: Carry Us Through by Sarah Masen

Album Art of Sarah Masen's Carry Us Through album - On a black background, a black-and-white photo of a woman in a black shirt with a dark grey or iridescent print on it is photographed in profile, with her facing to the left of the frame. Most of the light is coming from the direction of the camera, so the features of the white woman with short hair really pops from the black background and the black shirt. To the right of her, at about the level of her neck, is the artist name in bold white text and the album name to the right of that in thinner white text.

Released 28 years ago today, this is the third album by pop/rock singer-songwriter Sarah Masen. Produced by Charlie Peacock for his short-lived re:think label imprint, Sarah Masen's vocals soar over some simple, jazz-tinged indie pop. Her music wasn't something I listened to when this was released, but in the last few years I've been listening to her '90s albums more and I'm really liking them. The songs are well-done and catchy and her sound is fairly unique. I should check out her more recent, independent music too.

Release Year: 1998
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Album Of The Day
Music

Album Of The Day: Point #1 by Chevelle

Album Art of Chevelle's Point #1 album - On a black background, the middle is a light green color and looks like either a green marble or some sort of rug, though there's dark gouges/cracks in it and a few holes. On the left edge there is the tops of two feet poking into the frame, which is why I think it's a bit of floor, carpet, or maybe a bathtub? With the rest of it black, it's hard to tell. Printed above the green in a darker green text is the band's name, with the second 'e' turned around to mirror the 'e' on the other side of the 'v'. And in the blackness in the bottom left is printed the album title in small, white text.

Released 27 years ago today, this is the first album by Chevelle, a hard rock/metal band by two brothers for almost 30 years now, though actually at this moment a third brother was playing bass too. This album really hits hard, and by that I mean that this three-piece creates a lot of noise and lets out a lot of anger on this album. Guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter Pete Loeffler passionately sings and sometimes screams poetic lyrics trying to understand the complexities of life and questioning the things he's been taught. The highlight for me is still the title track which opens the album with six minutes of excellent metal, including a two-minute intro. But it doesn't stop from there; throughout it's 42 minutes of grunge-y guitars with thundering bass and drums as well as Pete's dynamic vocals. Producer Steve Albini and Chevelle kept the instrumentation and the production sparse and it keeps the energy up and probably sounds more like their live show, which I think was a very good choice for this band's debut. The band has continued to make music, but I haven't listened to much of their music except for this album in the last 20 years, honestly, as I found their few albums after this less and less compelling to me personally.

Release Year: 1999
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Album Of The Day
Music

Album Of The Day: Pro Pain by Mars ILL

Album Art of Mars ILL's Pro Pain album - A drawing of a two-door sedan car in a crash test setting, with the whole front of the car crumpled and mid-explosion. On top of the line drawing is painted blues, yellows and reds in various large swaths of color, with the paint not hitting the white edges. In the top left it says 'manchild and dust' in small black text, then the artist name in much larger white text with a black outline. At the bottom left, the album title is printed in brighter colors, with a white outline. In the bottom right is a Mars ILL word mark, where the 'ILL' kinda becomes part of the letter 'm'.

"Twenty years from right now my words are still grabbing your nature" Released 20 years ago tomorrow, this is the third major studio album by Atlanta hip-hop duo Mars ILL. DJ Dust puts together intricate hip-hop beds from classic records and other sources, and I love how each time I hear something new I missed on previous listens. Emcee ManChild does fast-moving rap about life, love and the rap game. Mars ILL is my favorite rap/hip-hop artist of all time, and their three albums are so, so fun to listen to. Yes, it's a bit of an underground/indie rap sound, but it's so well-made and the words and music have so much meaning to them. These two spent about 10 years in the underground hip-hop scene and this album was their final major release, as they moved on to other creative and professional pursuits, and only a few new songs have been released by them since. Seriously, if you like rap at all, check this duo out and I hope you like it.

Release Year: 2006
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Album Of The Day
Music

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