Jezabels Singer Hayley Mary Announces Debut Solo EP, Shares “Ordinary Me”

Hayley Mary—singer of the Aussie indie-pop group The Jezabels—has started down her own path as a solo artist with a series of recent singles. Today (Dec. 4), her second solo track to be released, “Ordinary Me,” comes with an announcement for Mary’s debut EP titled The Piss, The Perfume. While her first single was an ode to the grimy nightlife of Sydney, Australia, “Ordinary Me” is inspired by Celtic tales from Mary’s time spent revisiting her birthplace in the Scottish countryside.

“Ordinary Me” is a glimmering track that resonates straight from Mary’s heart into her charming vocal performance. The song centers around the concept of change over time—the beautifully cruel human dilemma of holding onto memories and past selves long after they’ve left.

Through her reflective lyrics, Mary asks for the stoppage of time to keep fleeting moments intact, singing, “If it were up to me, well none of us would change / But time will stake her claim / As it goes on and on forever.” The song is supported by subtle instrumentation—a plucked guitar, a warm base of strings—that allows Mary’s central voice to shine over all else. Halfway through, the mood veers into darker territories with a ripping guitar propping up Mary’s pleas: “I don’t want to be lonely my whole life.”

The minimalist video for the song shows two versions of Mary singing through the track. One of her selves is clad in a black turtleneck with a wistful demeanor, while the other—wearing a vintage white blouse and top hat—exudes endlessly happy energy. Between these two simultaneous selves, the song’s bridge between past and present becomes clear.

As Mary states, the practice of looking backward into one’s history can provide strong inspiration for current travels, saying of her time spent living in Scotland, “I got very in touch with my heritage living there and feel like I grew into myself a lot.”

The Piss, The Perfume is set for release Jan. 17, 2020, and can be preordered here. You can listen to “Ordinary Me” and a cut from The Jezabels’ 2016 Paste Studio session below, and check out Mary’s EP details further down.

The Piss, The Perfume EP Art:

The Piss, The Perfume Tracklist:
1. The Piss, The Perfume
2. Like A Woman Should
3. Ordinary Me
4. Holly
5. Brat