These pop-punk personalities stopped mid-tour to talk past, present, and future with us during their Atlanta date.
It was a cool but pleasant St. Patrick’s Day night when I sat down with Planet Mercury amid the eclectic collection of paint-splattered benches, vibrant personalities, and swaying trees. At the second-to-last stop on their east coast tour, the band surprised me with how much genuine positive energy they emitted. Their warm laughs, eager attitudes, and welcoming personalities mimicked the all-encompassing feeling of Heck House (the DIY art gallery/venue of the night), harnessing the cliche idea behind pop-punk personalities in general – in the nitty-gritty need to feel.
Hailing from various parts of New England, Planet Mercury came together after bassist Pat Connelly answered a Craigslist ad from vocalist/guitarist Michaela Logan. They met up, noticed their chemistry, and soon recruited Chris Lovejoy (drummer, lead vocalist). Shortly thereafter, the band bonded over musical inspirations (such as Green Day, Blink-182, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers), collaborating until they landed on a sound that called upon tones of the late 90’s and early 2000’s pop-punk scene.
When asked what makes their music stand out, the band took some time to respond. Lovejoy jumped in first: “I think that the type of music that we play definitely catches–not a niche crowd–because so many people our age grew up listening to that stuff,” (which later became obvious as their set that night included a nostalgic cover of the theme song for Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh, “I Found A Way.”) Their music is accessible. Logan added, “I think it’s listenable enough to where it’s for everybody; we create a happy environment for people that makes them want to come back and keep listening.”
And create a happy environment, they did. With careful planning, collaborative ideas, and an unwavering drive, the band hit the ground running: not two months after Lovejoy joined the band, Planet Mercury went on an east coast tour from Providence to St. Pete.
“He’s great, that’s the only time I’m ever going to compliment him,” Logan laughed about Lovejoy’s eager attitude. “No, seriously, he just picked up from where we were and knew what he was doing, so it was an easy transition.” The 10-day tour took them down the east coast, inspiring a momentum of songwriting that turned into their next pop-punk EP, and eventually, led to the connections that formed their current tour.
Much like their tour created an attainable energy, so did their momentum as a band in business. With a collaborative performance, Lovejoy’s warm smiles and genuine excitement invited the crowd to participate in every lyric, almost enabling the crowd to join the band on stage: when Planet Mercury played, they made it a communal experience.
After a brief and humble introduction, Planet Mercury opened with a song from their 2020 album, Earthquake, matching their energy to the song’s title. Loud cymbals carried the groove-based melody from the start, complimenting Logan’s nasty guitar licks before coming back together with powerful gang vocals. After performing fan-favorites like “Comatose” and “Burn,” and after paying their respects to Green Day with a cover of “She”, Planet Mercury closed the set with a preview of new single, “Love Suicide.” Their whole set was thrilling, filled with bops and bangers that had a core theme of catchy grooves – even the attendees who were never self-proclaimed emo kids enthusiastically nodded their heads to the set – simply because it felt so good.
What stood out to me was just how friendly they were; their easygoing demeanors allowed me to see that they know how to be serious as a band without taking themselves too seriously – and that’s something that everyone in the crowd could get behind. Their young, eager, get-shit-done type of attitudes were all but inspiring – embodying everything that their music is entirely about. Despite setbacks, they persevere, simply for their deep holistic love of music. Youthful yet mature, they harness the strong ideas of angst and rebellion found in the relics of pop punk – emoting raw feelings with such power that they not only harness these punk ideas, they are the modern definition of pop-punk.
What’s next for Planet Mercury? After winning over the hearts of local Atlanta opener MENU, the Heck House staff, and entire audience, this New England band bid Atlanta farewell only to promise big plans for the future. Not only do they have big aspirations to break out of their region, but they have the drive and the discipline needed to do so. So as expected, they’re not slowing down – with new single “Love Suicide” premiering the last day of their tour, they whispered the potential promises of more music (and touring) on the horizon.