With a sound not unlike other eclectic artists in the indie/alt rock space like Wednesday, Indigo de Souza, and at times Mannequin Pussy on their lighter tracks it makes sense Hello Mary would work with a similar producer. Indie producer Alex Farrar, who has worked with both Indigo, Wednesday, and plenty of other big indie acts, helps with much of the production work on the New York band’s second album Emita Ox, and solidifies what was already a strength on last year’s debut.
Hello Mary’s a bit more noise rock focused than some of the indie acts Farrar is used to working with but the combination turns out very well for both sides on Emita Ox. The initially lowkey guitars pull you into the doomed romance of “Courtesy” and the track’s instrumentation piles on perfectly as the narrative builds on one of the album’s best tracks. “0%” has some excellent rumbling guitars, Helena Straight’s drums are killer, and one of the most energetic vocal performances on the album. Some of the more lower energy moments like “Bubble” work very well as the track’s instrumentation gains steam toward the louder grungish hook.
Beyond Emita Ox‘s excellent production there are a handful of strong moments on the vocal end, although I do wish there were a bit more to be had throughout the album. “Down My Life” kinda sounds like a track off The Bends with the opening drum kick, and the soft spoken and almost muffled lyrics work well, as do the closing ‘ah’s’. The album intro “Float” starts with some grunge guitars but pivots towards an almost industrial type closing minute with some killer vocals to match the tone shift, I just wish it wasn’t the only track that tried that sound. The vocal delivery matches the much more sunny indie vibes on “Everything We Do” perfectly, and it’s a great way to finish the album.
‘Wrote it down to be found
Nothing amounts
To the fear you allowed
Watch me burn
Down my life in a night
Let it fade, truth resolves
Rest my eyes’
I do enjoy most of the album, and the production is consistently top notch, but there is a lack of ‘wow’ factor if you will. Emita Ox isn’t a very long album but some of the songs do sort of blend together on the vocal end, “Knowing You” especially is a bit of a drag despite the good production. “Hiyeahi” and “Heavy Sleeper” (which I actually liked and I would have liked to see more tracks utilize that heavenly, angelic sound more) being extremely short doesn’t help much either. Consistent quality throughout is a good thing but so is being blown away every now and again.
To me, I think Hello Mary are very close to breaking out and establishing themselves as one of the better bands in their lane. A little more creativity put into the vocals and writing would go far in matching the excellent production you hear throughout Emita Ox. With this being the band’s second album in under two years, Hello Mary are clearly willing to work to continue growing their sound and I’d love to hear how their next album sounds.
