Like "Flux", the band's previous single, the song uses mostly electronic instruments.

The track was named Single of the Week by Drowned in Sound on 11 August 2008.

The video for "Mercury", directed by Ace Norton, was simultaneously unveiled along with the song.

The resulting creature, which has a bull's horned head, a crab's pincer, and a hairy human body then rises in popularity, eventually becoming the President of the United States.

Eventually, the creature (named Smith) goes to war with other countries to get bananas for the monkey scientists.