I have to admit to having a bit of a soft spot for power trios. There’s something about the directness of the music they make that really speaks to me. Such was my immediate love for the new album from New York based Hello Mary.
Still in their late teens and early twenties, Helena Straight (guitar, vocals), Mikaela Oppenheimer (bass, synth) and Stella Wave (vocals, drums) formed the band in 2019 from a youth music programme in their New York City High school. They have already toured with the likes of Silversun Pickups, American Football and DIIV and received rave reviews for both their recorded works and live performances.
Listening back to their earlier long players 2020’s Ginger and their 2023 self-titled album, it was obvious the band have a deep affection for that alt rock sound of the early nineties. However, the band say that this their third album, Emita Ox, see’s them forging their own path.
“The band have adopted certain elements from their touring contemporaries while making a sound distinctly their own, playing with elements of shoegaze, noise rock, post-rock, and mixed-metre composition. They present an intriguing contrast between dreamy, ethereal moments and unfiltered, noisy chaos, while still maintaining their signature playfulness. This results in a record with the freshness of a debut.”
That description pretty much ticks every box for me. Let’s drop the needle and turn the amp up to eleven.
The album opens on the ominous chords of ‘Float’. Already you can hear the progression in the bands sound. It’s the guitar keeping time here as the drums play around the beat with real intent. Before we get too comfortable the band switch it up with bass and drums exploding as the guitars get frantic and vocals are screamed to a sudden conclusion. It’s only the opening track and I’m out of breath but smiling ear to ear.
That leads neatly into ‘0%’ with Wave channelling her inner Kim Gordon to deliver a powerhouse vocal performance. Meanwhile the bass and drums drive the song forward with some genius switch ups in tempo and volume that keep your attention zoned right in. Guitars are serpentine and slide around the notes with abandon and man, I’m here for it!
‘Three’ arrives on this luscious rolling chord progression and angelic vocals. This song is where the band pluck the albums title from, a spoken word section in the mid-point. Just after that the song tips into a powerful fuzzed out free fall that’s incredibly exhilarating. The band are choosing to operate in various rhythmic patterns and time signatures within songs which makes for such a satisfying listen.
The next track opens with what sounds like that viral drum video beat. You know the one with the balancing stick on the hi hats. ‘Down My Life’ is a song owned by Oppenheimer’s stunning bass work. She fills the space between the vocals and the guitars with a gorgeous walking pattern that erupts into a growling retort, snarling over the chorus sections.
‘Knowing You’ has the feel of a horse straining at the reins wanting to gallop but not yet. The steady drums and pendulous bass keep us in time and grounded but this song needs to fly. It’s not long until that first chorus loose the reins and we’re off. Like a rocket, the band explodes heavenwards taking us with them. The guitar tone in this section is particularly potent. I’d love to know what pedals were involved.
The first curveball of the album comes next in ‘Heavy Sleeper’. To my ears this feels like some SMiLe outtake that Brian Wilson wishes he wrote. Those effected backing vocals are so impactful against the minimal instrumentation.
That takes us into the shining beating heart of this album. ‘Footstep Misstep’ is the very zenith of the band’s experimentation on this album. The variety of styles they seamlessly weave throughout this one track tells you all you need to know about these three as songwriters. Nothing is off the table as they charge and bob and weave at us.
‘Courtesy’ is a more relaxed affair and blends that bedroom pop vocal with a potent indie rock track. Even when the guitars are raging that gentle vocal tempers the flames and sweetens the tea leaving the listener in a state of bliss.
‘Hiyeahi’ is their robotic tone poem for an apocalypse gone right. Equal parts eerie, demonic and optimistic it serves as a palate cleanser as we head into the next track.
The band lean into their shoegaze and dreampop influences next with the effusive ‘Bubble’. One half an acoustic, almost folk song. The other an aural assault akin to Sonic Youth at their artiest. The glue in between is the harmony driven vocals, which I believe are Hello Mary’s secret weapon.
All too soon the album comes to a close. ‘Everything We Do’ an acoustic indie track that bounces along on those sweet vocal harmonies is the perfect choice to end proceedings on. It leads on nicely from the acoustic element in ‘Bubble’ and sends us on our way with a big smile on our faces.
Emita Ox is nothing short of stunning. This was my introduction to the band (much to my shame) and I’m pleased to say that this was an instant hit to my ears. I didn’t need multiple listens to know that this was going to be appearing on my end of year list. I’m way past multiple listens now (maybe even umpteen) and the album just get better each time. It reveals more layers of intricacy, more nuances that endears this band to me more and more.
Emita Ox is out now on Frenchkiss Records and is available digitally from the Hello Mary Bandcamp page and on a variety of colours of vinyl from your favourite record shop.
You can follow Hello Mary on social media here….
Photo Credit
Cooper Winterson
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