Oh Mercy are a band from Melbourne, Victoria that formed in 2006.

Built upon a love of pop music and expressive vocals, Oh Mercy’s idiosyncratic blend of quirky pop has seen them rise to the top of Melbourne’s current crop of musicians with surprising velocity.

The young 4-piece draws their inspiration from music both old and new: from The Velvet Underground, to Bob Dylan and the current zeitgeist pioneers Fleet Foxes. As one of the most discussed bands upon the inception of the current ‘Triple J Unearthed’ format, they were rewarded in 2007 with a slot at Australia’s biggest festival, the Big Day Out, and with the accompanying live shows, they received achingly positive reviews from the likes of Fasterlouder and Wireless Bollinger, and radio play on Triple J and community radio nationally.

Described as “like a young version of Augie March crossed with The Shins” (Fasterlouder), Oh Mercy’s style is consistently difficult to pin down. What is certain is that, while they cite classic rock ‘n’ roll and folk influences, the songwriting partnership of Alexander Gow and Thomas Savage creates music unmistakably of their own style: Gow’s distinctive vocals, reminiscent of those attitude‑filled voices of Dylan and Reed, lend something unique to the sound – his “easy going stage charm and natural troubadour’s swagger” (whothehell.net) bringing gravity to their live shows – and Savage’s outstanding lead guitar cuts through with equal parts technical precision and ad hoc chaos. The pair’s experiential lyrics betray their youthfulness– the bandmembers are all only in their early 20s – as they commonly dip into themes of anxiety and impetuousness.