Interview: mercury's Maddie Kerr Talks Songwriting, Raw Emotion, & ‘Together We Are One, You and I’

mercury’s Maddie Kerr catches up with Atwood Magazine for a candid conversation about processing grief and human suffering, channeling raw emotion into sound, and the alt-rock band’s heavy, hard-hitting project, ‘Together We Are One, You and I.’

‘Together We Are One, You and I’ – mercury

To me, it’s about recognizing that everyone feels the same emotions in one way or another. We are all united in our love, joy, sadness, pain, anger, and grief in one way or another.

For a band named after the smallest planet in our solar system, mercury boast a massive sound.

The alt-rock project founded by Maddie Kerr is at once unapologetic and uncompromising, their music an invigorating mix of deep vulnerability and feverish, fiery sound. Recent tracks like 2023’s “Woolgathering” and “Trying” have elevated the Franklin, Tennessee-based group’s artistry and status, putting their name on the map and earning them the well-deserved title of “artist to watch” for many an outlet.

“It’s like Wolf Alice had a child with Lucero (or Big Thief met Pale Waves), and out popped this band that aches from the inside out while hitting our ears and hearts with a seismic, soul-stirring force,” I wrote in a December review of “Woolgathering,” going on to praise the track as a “cinematic alt-rock upheaval with just a hint of heartland charm.”

Diehard fans can still find mercury’s 2020 debut EP We Were So Close, but Now We’re So Far (a cult favorite) on Bandcamp, but there’s no denying that this band’s best years are still to come. Their latest release is especially breathtaking, as Maddie Kerr channels raw, intimate, and achingly visceral emotions into a supernova-sized eruption that hits hard and leaves an instant, lasting mark on the ears and the heart.

Together We Are One, You And I - mercury — Together We Are One, You And I – mercury

Described as an “experimental voyage of grief, pain, and loss,” the three-track Together We Are One, You And I is a heavy, breathtaking punch to the gut. Released June 7, 2024 via Big Loud Rock (under exclusive license to Mercury Records / Republic Records), the trio of songs “Born in Early May,” “Special,” and “Crick” is as loud as it is soft, as intense as it is gentle, as polished as it is raw.

Kerr candidly describes the project as an emotional breakthrough, explaining to Atwood Magazine how all three songs came from a turbulent period marked by change and instability.

“I was trying to figure out the best way to navigate relationships, death, moving through pain, and confusion,” she shares. “These experiences really shaped the language I was using to convey how I was feeling. The best way for me to process how I was feeling and how I wanted to move forward, was by processing through music and lyricism. It allowed me to meditate on things and grow into my feelings.”

“I was struggling quite a bit to find the right words to say and when I finally did, it all just poured out into these songs. They really mean a lot to me and speak deeply to my heart. I felt like I needed to share them all together as one item.”

The title Together We Are One, You And I is a unifier, expressing how so many of our emotions are shared experiences, despite the tendency to feel isolated in one’s feelings. “We are all united in our love, joy, sadness, pain, anger, and grief in one way or another,” Kerr adds.

mercury's Maddie Kerr © Josef Lloyd — mercury’s Maddie Kerr © Josef Lloyd

**A product of passion and pain, hunger and heartache, Together We Are One, You And I presents mercury at their most dynamic and dramatic:**

Recorded in Asheville, North Carolina with producer Alex Farrar (Wednesday, Snail Mail, Indigo de Souza), it’s a sonically and emotionally charged fever dream that embraces everything from sludgy grunge to messy naughties indie sleaze and more. While glimpses of hope and light poke through the dark haze, this project in particular is not focused on the end, so much as it is the journey itself: One filled with turmoil, inner reckoning, and real, lived struggle. As a result, not only is it the band’s hardest-hitting release of their career, but it’s also their most human output to date.

“I wanted the sounds to make me feel how the lyrics made me feel,” Kerr reflects. “I wanted it to feel like a buildup and release. A cathartic experience.”

Atwood Magazine recently caught up with Maddie Kerr for an in-depth conversation about mercury and Together We Are One, You And I. Dive into the band and their new music in our interview below, and stay tuned for more to come!

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:: stream/purchase Together We Are One, You and I here ::

:: connect with mercury here ::

‘Together We Are One, You and I’ – mercury

A CONVERSATION WITH MERCURY

Atwood Magazine: Great to catch up, Maddie, and welcome back! Firstly, what's the story behind “Together We Are One, You And I,” and why did you choose this trio of songs as your first bit of music of the year?

mercury: This project was a big emotional breakthrough for me. I was struggling quite a bit to find the right words to say and when I finally did, it all just poured out into these songs. They really mean a lot to me and speak deeply to my heart. I felt like I needed to share them all together as one item.

You’ve described this as “an experimental voyage of grief, pain, and loss.” Where, for you, did those emotions stem from? Were these real life, lived experiences, and how did you navigate them?

mercury: I experienced a lot of change in my life. I was trying to figure out the best way to navigate relationships, death, moving through pain, and confusion. These experiences really shaped the language I was using to convey how I was feeling. The best way for me to process how I was feeling and how I wanted to move forward, was by processing through music and lyricism. It allowed me to meditate on things and grow into my feelings.

What’s this project’s creation story? Were the three songs made together, or did you find through-lines after the fact and build them into what we hear today?

mercury: They all kind of just spilled out at once. I started with ‘Born In Early May’ and as soon as that one came out, the rest fell into place. I had the riff at the end of ‘Crick’ set aside for years, and when I was in the midst of writing the song, it finally had a place. I was so excited about that one.

I started ‘Special’ and finished it the night before I recorded it the next day in Asheville with Alex Farrar. That was a good feeling to have something new and be able to record it immediately. They all came from such a similar place in my life and in my heart, a longing for understanding. I felt like they were perfect on a project together for that reason.

What does the name “Together We Are One, You And I” mean to you? Where does it stem from?

mercury: To me, it’s about recognizing that everyone feels the same emotions in one way or another. We are all united in our love, joy, sadness, pain, anger, and grief in one way or another.

Sonically, these songs are so dramatic, dynamic, and fierce. What were you going for when recording it? What was your vision for it, if any?

mercury: I wanted the sounds to make me feel how the lyrics made me feel. I wanted it to feel like a buildup and release. A cathartic experience.

Sometimes it can be hard to completely leave behind things that aren’t serving your life in a healthy way. And it can be so easy to let them back in if they come around again.

Do you have any favorite lyrics or lines from them?

mercury: I really love “the heroes they will say, now you’re done for good but if love can find a way, I pray love will find its way” from ‘Born In Early May.’ To me, that line is about keeping some hope when the world feels like it’s crashing down. Even though sometimes it can feel like things won’t get better. It’s like a final cry, if love can really find a way I hope it will.

I also really love the second verse of ‘Special,’ “sometimes I look back and find myself bolder now that you’re not around, it’s courage I lack when you tap on my shoulder trying to talk me back down.” Sometimes it can be hard to completely leave behind things that aren’t serving your life in a healthy way. And it can be so easy to let them back in if they come around again. I just think it captures such a human experience. We all know and experience that feeling in one way or another.

I love the intensity of the short film you released alongside this project! How did that come about, and how do you feel it adds to the music’s experience?

mercury: Thank you so so much!!! That really means the world to me. When I wrote the songs I immediately had a vision in mind. Something that told a bunch of different stories. My friend Harrison and I came together and really tried to brainstorm a poetic, non-linear approach – that still told the story of human suffering. The hope is that when people watch, they come away feeling a little more understood in their own experience with hardship and the darkness and grief that comes with it.

The hope is that when people watch, they come away feeling a little more understood in their own experience with hardship and the darkness and grief that comes with it.

Stepping back, how, for you, does “Together We Are One, You And I” serve as a reintroduction to mercury?

mercury: It feels like a more matured version of my songwriting. I have gotten to grow further into how I want to write and put my words together and build worlds.

Continuing along that line of thought, what excites you about returning with new music now?

mercury: I’m really excited to continue diving further into the songwriting world. There are always so many different possibilities for songs. A new song is the most magical kind of discovery and I already have some new music written that I’m incredibly excited to share.

Lastly, what do you love most about “Together We Are One, You And I,” and what do you hope listeners take away from it?

mercury: I love how raw it feels. It truly just feels like my heart in songs. I hope that people can listen and feel heard and seen. Knowing that they aren’t the only ones that feel the way they do.

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