Photo Credit: Cooper Winterson
We were lucky enough to have caught a 45-minute set from Hello Mary at the Edinburgh Psych Festival in September – they impressed us so much that a review of their upcoming album Emita Ox was a must. Forming in 2019, the Brooklyn, New York alternative rock trio are made up of vocalist/guitarist Helena Straight, bassist/synth player Mikaela Oppenheimer and drummer/vocalist Stella Wave. In 2020 they released their Ginger EP, followed by 2023’s self-titled debut album, which have attracted a fair amount of attention including a support slot with American Football on their recent UK tour.
Released via Frenchkiss Records, Emita Ox is a decent follow-up to last year’s debut record and sees the trio experimenting at times, with Oppenheimer commenting: “This album encompasses a lot of our inspirations, it also shows what we’re like as a trio, collectively”.
Float opens the album in a nice, slow manner, building up to a crescendo before the track closes. The guitar work at the end of the song is pleasing on the ears, as Straight works well alongside Oppenheimer’s psychedelic-tinged synthesiser playing, finishing the song in almost punk style. Next up is 0%, possibly the best song on the LP. The piercing screams from Wave are impressive here, backed by the great co-production from Alex Farrar and the band. Next song Three has a nice light guitar intro with more mellow vocals from Straight, the shoegaze influences can be heard here reminding us of a bands such as NewDad – this new generation are inspiring a comeback for shoegaze. Down My Life is more of the same with a drum led intro from Wave playing off well beside the guitar and bass. This is a song that keeps you on your toes with the listening experience for sure.
Knowing You has a lighter acoustic start before it dives in deeper, building into grunge while perhaps noting influences from the likes of Radiohead – the experimentation from all three musicians is of a very high standard on this song. Heavy Sleeper is one of the shortest tracks on the album, but this takes nothing away from the great vocals from Straight and Wave, backed nicely by Oppenheimer on bass duties, while Footstep Misstep is a very lively number pulling you in right away. If Hello Mary went on tour with NewDad it would be the perfect musical match in our opinion.
Courtesy gives the listener more shoegaze and indie rock to ponder. We love the guitar riffs from Straight on this track. As we near the end of the eleven-track album Hiyeahi has a more psychedelic feel about it. It sounds like Oppenheimer has been given the freedom to experiment on the synth during a song that runs to only 1 minute 23 seconds. Bubble allows the vocalist to pick up the acoustic guitar for the first minute or so, before the track explodes into more grunge and psychedelia. Emita Ox concludes with Everything We Do, a gentler end to the LP.
Normally we would have a listen to an album before setting down to write a review, but on this occasion it has been decided to go in blind and really connect to the music. We must say it has been such an enjoyable listening experience, Hello Mary could have a big future ahead of them. The 34-minute runtime flew by and left this reviewer deeply impressed, hoping to see Hello Mary live during a headline tour sometime in the near future.
Hello Mary are yet another example of a band pushing the boundaries of music, helping to create a very healthy future for the alternative/shoegaze/indie styles.
9/10
Standout Tracks: 0%, Three, Footstep Misstep
For Fans Of: NewDad, Slowdive, Radiohead
Written by: Alan Brown
