Armand Hammer - Mercy

The Alchemist's shadow versus the spotlight of features: an elliptical writing style that navigates between a dark coherence and collaborative bursts. While the album primarily earns respect for its artistic coherence, it stands out due to a desire to explore new emotional registers through additional voices that subtly enhance this delicate atmosphere.

Laraaji: the subtle dawn of a 41-minute album

The album opens with Laraaji, an instrumental track that immediately sets the tone for a minimalist exploration. The absence of vocals in the first track creates a sonic void that The Alchemist's production fills with carefully crafted textures, establishing a framework where the duo's elliptical writing can flourish without immediate melodic constraints. It's an invitation to calm, a slow entry that contrasts with the lead single Super Nintendo, released in October 2025, and which will serve to close the listening experience. This reversed structure, where the opening track remains instrumental while the final track allows for a powerful revelation, suggests an album built on sonic tension rather than a traditional linear progression.

California Games & Super Nintendo: the tension between closure and revelation

While the consistent and carefully maintained atmosphere of the album can sometimes make the tracks confusing, the transition between the calm of an instrumental or vocal outro and the final energy of Super Nintendo offers a striking contrast. The production continues to seek out new emotional registers for Armand Hammer's voice, pushing the lyrics towards heights that are sometimes far removed from conventional flow.

At the heart of the album, the featured artists act as strategic contrasts, breaking the monotony of an album that might otherwise seem too uniform. This collaboration is not just a cameo; it carries the legacy of a duo that has already navigated iconic tracks like "Chicharrones" or "Frida," bringing a familiarity that contrasts with the novelty of The Alchemist's sound. Similarly, Dogeared introduces Kapwani on a track where the specific content remains shrouded in a dense production, while Crisis Phone welcomes Pink Siifu. Their presence is not insignificant: it extends an already rich artistic relationship, from "Bitter Cassava" and "Trauma Mic" to "Tokyo Blunts," where Armand Hammer himself collaborated with the singer of Real Bad Flights (2022). These voices add layers of narrative to an already elliptical writing style, allowing the album to expand its horizons without ever abandoning its dark coherence.

Calypso Gene & Longjohns: The collective voice of Silka, Cleo Reed and Quelle Chris

With its 14 tracks and carefully crafted length, it confirms the status of Armand Hammer and The Alchemist as creators of a specific aesthetic, far removed from the conventions of commercial rap but rooted in a demanding underground tradition. The presence of six guest artists, including some already linked to the duo's history through past collaborations, enriches this second collaborative album without ever betraying the initial vision. It is an album that navigates between the calm of an instrumental dawn and the brilliance of an explosive ending, proving that even in elliptical writing, it is possible to maintain interest in an opus as short and dense.

Technical details

- Release date : November 7, 2025 - Label : Backwoodz Studioz - Tracks : 14 (41 minutes 51 seconds) - Opening / closing : Laraaji / Super Nintendo - Guest artists : Silka, Cleo Reed, Quelle Chris, Kapwani, Pink Siifu, Earl Sweatshirt - Previous album : We Buy Diabetic Test Strips (2024)