Music City Mayhem Round 3: Mercy Bell vs. Shane Piasecki

The Contestants

In the left: wandering songstress Mercy Bell, who has come to Nashville "by way of Brooklyn, Massachusetts, California, and Arkansas." Her haunting folk number "Icarus" speaks to this wanderlust as we hear her "walk the bars and find a random stranger" and ponder whether or not she, like Icarus, is bound to fly too close the sun and end up "a heap out on the highway." If that sounds corny or overwrought, it's only because I don't have as much poetic capability in my entire body as this girl has in her little finger. Mercy Bell's lyrical prowess is seriously impressive, and she's got the voice to back it up, too. When she really gets going, her voice takes on an ornamental quality that almost makes her sound like Sinead O'Connor, the girl from The Cranberries, or one of them other Irish singers. And in case you were wondering, that was meant as a sincere compliment. The wordless chorus (or second half of the chorus, rather) is going to be stuck in my head all day, and in all probability I, too, will be "singing oh oh ohhhhhh....."

Swinging from the right corner: Ohio native Shane Piasecki. Shane's track, "Jackie O'," is an easygoing, sophisticated country jam that reminded me instantly of that song "Something Like Olivia" on the new John Mayer album. Unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of that album, but Shane has got a tasteful touch of twang in his voice that helps drive the song oh-so-much better than would J. May's breathy puffs. I can't help but think that he sounds a bit like Brett Dennen at times-- and yes, this is also  meant to be taken as compliment. With punchy, muted guitar and soft organ humming from the background, the production on the song sounds very Wallflowers. Shane also wins by default in the video category, since Mercy Bell's video is just a Youtube video with the song playing over the album artwork. His video for "Jackie O'" is cool, though, in that it's simply a really good live performance of the song. I always think music videos are best when they draw attention towards the song rather than away from it, and he definitely succeeds here. I suppose the only way he could have succeeded more in this regard would be to...well, make a Youtube video with only the song playing over the album artwork.

The Verdict

As much as I did like Shane, I knew that my vote was going for Mercy Bell within the first few seconds of his track. After hearing "Icarus," the competition would have had to absolutely blow me away in order to lure me to the other side. I was really impressed by Mercy Bell, and I hope to see her make it far in the competition. Cast your vote for her here.

So far the right corner has been producing winners. Here's to hoping the left corner can make a stronger showing in the coming days!