Written from a place of deep anxiety and fear, Nilka’s “Mercy” is both undeniably danceable and incredibly powerful. The track finds the alt-pop singer breaking down her walls and allowing her weaknesses to show as she leans on the fortitude of faith. She explains that the track was written after losing her bartending job in the wake of the global pandemic and watching her husband work on the front lines as a paramedic. “Fear and anxiety were swallowing me,” she says. “I leaned on my faith and God a lot, and although so many times I felt like I was just putting a new bandaid over a wound that wasn’t healing, I know it saved me from a truly dark place.” Singing the word “mercy” with willful persistence over a dreamy trip-hop beat, Nilka brings listeners right into her mental fluctuations wi...