Hello Mary - Hello Mary (2023) Hi Res

It's always fascinating when musicians can perfectly pick up on a sound and vibe from before they were born. The NYC trio Hello Mary all women under the age of 25 have made a record that sounds like it should have been released in the heyday of Veruca Salt and Belly. Bonafides: They've already been praised by Belly's Tanya Donelly and Luna's Britta Phillips for their big, dark grunge guitars and bittersweet harmonies. Of course, if you want to get that particular '90s sound right, it's smart to land a producer like Bryce Goggin (Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr., Spacehog, Bettie Serveert). With its lurching, catching rhythm and Mikaela Oppenheimer's super groovy bass, "Spiral" is the kind of melodic monster dudes used to play with their bass down to the knees, only layered with the pretty vocal harmonies of guitarist Helena Straight and drummer Stella Wave. "Comfort" is almost Soundgarden-like with its tricksy vocal melodies and sludge guitar. Swirling "Evicted" also trades in striking harmonies as well as excellent lyrics: "I've been evicted from the sun/ Going out today was a grave mistake." In fact, for a band that's not goth, Hello Mary writes stunningly dark and moody lyrics. Heavy "Rabbit" begins with a child's voice singing as if no one's listening, half under their breath, before the band comes in: "Shoot the rabbit/ To feed the kid … None went to waste/ He couldn't tell/ What he had just ate." "Forced into the ground/ To conceal the sound/ Hidden from the crowd/ Heart breaking too loud" go the words to "Looking Right Into the Sun," which boasts a crunchy metal breakdown. The band has said that song is about "feeling stuck and restricted by circumstances out of one's control" yep, the pandemic, which struck just as the band was getting its footing and plays with duality and metaphor: "The sun is beautiful and mesmerizing yet looking directly at it will blind you." As mentioned before, you can hear traces of Belly ("Droopy Eyes"), as well as Helium ("Stinge") and Veruca Salt: "Special Treat," which goes from round robin vocals almost like a prayer ("We became a special treat/ We are not supposed to eat") to a chugging jam. But it's not just some retro costume; Hello Mary manages to make that circa-'93/'94 sound feel fresh and thoughtful.