Following on from their self-titled debut album last year, Hello Mary return with Emita Ox. Taking their alternative rock sound to another level, the New York trio experiment on Emita Ox to create an album that is as chaotic as it is beautiful.
One second you’re treated to vocal harmonies over clean guitars, the next there’s an explosion of distortion, screams and deafening drums – yet it works. The constant changes of tone and tempo keep you on your toes not knowing which direction any track is about to head.
Starting with ‘Float’ the track builds with the clean tones previously mentioned before ending as a full 90s grunge rocker. Mikaela Oppenheimer’s bass shines throughout the album but you’ll be quickly gripped by the driving basslines on both ‘Float’ and ‘0%’.
Emita Ox is not exactly the follow up you’d expect from last year’s self-titled record. Keeping the core sound of the band present, the boundaries are pushed. Short transitional tracks such as ‘Heavy Sleeper’ and ‘Hiyeahi’ make the jump from the fuzzy grunge guitars to cleaner sounds almost seamless.
Vocal duties are split between guitarist Helena Straight and drummer Stella Wave with them equally sharing the responsibilities. Their voices compliment each other throughout with the full range of their vocal abilities being shown across the album. One track will feature the pair harmonising to be followed up by a series of screams in the next.
The album ends as experimental as it starts with ‘Bubble’ and ‘Everything We Do’ closing it out. Both tracks begin similarly with folk-esque guitar picking before ‘Bubble’ fires into crunchy riffs while ‘Everything We Do’ ends things in a more mellow fashion.
Emita Ox feels like Hello Mary are making a statement. Avoiding the boundaries of genre, Emita Ox explores every corner of rock from grunge to punk and even a bit folk – the band leave nothing untouched. Hello Mary are a band to keep an eye on, don’t be surprised if you’re seeing a lot more of them very soon.
