Hello Mary

Description

Hello Mary which was produced by Bryce Goggin (Pavement /Luna) references alternative rock of the nineties alongside Elliot Smith and Jeff Buckley as influences, heard most vividly on the albums simmering closer Burn it Out, but their contemporaries are bands like Palberta, Spirit of the Beehive, and Palehound, artists who dont shy from unusual time signatures, careening feedback, and unconventional harmonies, all for the sake of surprising a listener. The albums Looking Right Into the Sun, a song most honestly described as delightful, is driven by a tight and dynamic rhythm section that gives way to Straights crystalline and confident falsetto. The debut album was written during a period of immense uncertainty. We were battling things personally, the world was battling COVID, Wave says. So theres a darkness to it that isnt apparent on first listen. Yet prioritizing sensation over narrative cohesion opens up the ability to make even the most lyrically devastating songs pleasurable. On the psychedelic Spiral, Straight and Wave harmonize to dazzling effect on the chorus, while Oppenheimers driving bassline tethers them to earth. Is it a coincidence? Youre hanging out all night, while Im on the other side, they sing to an unknown other. Were singing about the paranoia that comes along with relationships, the sense of jealousy that feels like youre on the outside of things, Stella says. Relatability gives way to absurdity, too, an example of which arrives in the form of Special Treat, which opens with disarming harmonies that might recall a schoolyard taunt, or something more sinister, like the summoning of a coven. The earwormy Rabbit is, at its core, a straight ahead rock song that features one rock-star-esque guitar solo.