The North Carolina indie lifer Eric Bachmann has been making music for decades, first as the frontman of Archers Of Loaf and then leading Crooked Fingers. And later this year, Bachmann will release a self-titled solo album. Bachmann recorded the album in Asheville, and its first single “Mercy,” is a grand and sweeping song, with gospel and doo-wop overtones. But it’s also a very personal song, one that Bachmann says is about “emanating gratitude and unconditional love, despite our differences of opinion… It is a risky song for me because when certain members of my family hear it, it may not go well. They likely won’t hear the intended inclusive message.” Listen to it below.

Eric Bachmann is out 3/23 on Merge.