Islands by The Mary Onettes
LABEL: Labrador  |||  RELEASE: November 3, 2009

The first vocals that roll off the second LP by The Mary Onettes like a steamroller don't bring me back to the usual comparisons but to elsewhere. When I first heard this I had a flashback to some love child of Stiff Records and Billy Bragg in this soulful tone of voice. Certainly the music still flirts with the dark wave and dream pop movements in parts as it grows up, but the vocalist has matured perhaps the most from the self-titled album of a few years past.

“But there are tracks on here that are as thick as molasses, heavy work that can ensnare the listener into both the complexity of the music and the haunting resonance of the vocals”

An evolving storytelling style in Philip Ekstrom's songwriting mixed with the essential hooks that have always categorized so many of their label's bands. The long wait for this album after their trouble and having to re-record their process due to theft and hardware problems has let them blossom into a beautiful flower from the seeds of adversity. The string sections, synthesizer and other elements work in a fascinating throwback to shades of The Cure, something none of the band members would likely take as an insult given the band's major influence on them.

With Puzzles and Dare EPs out to give hints to the album, there may be some hesitance to pick up the ten track full length with two singles and a number of the songs already out there. But there are no throwaway tracks on the album and many of my personal favorites are not on either of the two preview EPs that are out there.

The compositions are usually not the strong suit for many indie pop bands, focusing often on quirky over thought provoking. But there are tracks on here that are as thick as molasses, heavy work that can ensnare the listener into both the complexity of the music and the haunting resonance of the vocals and lyrical qualities. They are not necessarily what a fan of some intricate metal band would consider challenging but it is an exercise in balance. Their drum beats, for example, are nearly perfect in each song—interesting and attentive, suited well to each song and never needlessly overwrought for the sake of attention.

The overall polish in Islands, more than anything else, show the amazing growth and potential of The Mary Onettes. Even having listened to Islands almost a dozen times already to ponder it, I'm eager to see what they will do next and that is the biggest endorsement I can give a band.


REVIEWED BY RAIN PLETCHER
RAIN'S FAVORITE TRACKS: “Once I was Pretty" • "The Disappearance of My Youth" • "Symmetry"
rain@groovemine.com

The Mary Onettes 'Puzzles' from Labrador Records on Vimeo.

Official video for 'Puzzles' from the forthcoming album 'Islands'.

www.labrador.se