Hello Mary Aren’t Up For Misinterpretation

New York City rock bands that are actually from New York City are a rare commodity. So many musicians flee to the city searching for artistic solace rather than being born into the vibrant hub of dynamism and creativity. Some come for school and never leave; some aren’t even from here but claim to be. Hello Mary are a different story. Helena Straight, Stella Wave and Mikaela Oppenheimer grew up in various parts of Brooklyn, giving themselves time to form attachments to the city by letting its electrifying heartbeat seep into their blood. Straight and Oppenheimer go back as far as middle school, where they met at a local music program and hit it off instantly with their love for mid-2010s indie rock like Car Seat Headrest and Twin Peaks. Wave, a few years older than her bandmates, came into the picture a bit later.

She was a freshman in college when she first got introduced to the demos Straight and Oppenheimer were recording in the attic of the former’s childhood home—with Straight’s dad on drums at the time. After being intrigued by the capabilities of the duo, who were both just 15 at the time, the three finally had a somewhat awkward introduction at Straight’s family home. Wave soon joined Hello Mary as the third member and drummer, quickly taking the reins as the band’s final piece. She did double-duty, too, acting as their manager and booking them gigs around the city.

Soon after Hello Mary began playing together as a trio, pandemic shutdowns put their growth on hold. The pause in regular life became an opportune time for them to grow their skills as writers and musicians. Coming out on the other side of the pandemic closer than ever and with a newfound confidence, they released their self-titled debut in early 2023. Now older and maybe a little more renewed as individuals, Hello Mary have pushed their sound past their strictly grunge-tinged roots to a more experimental soundscape—a vehicle showcasing the mirage of influences they’ve harnessed, from the avant-prog of black midi to the post-rock of Swans.

As Oppenheimer boards the Ferry from her home in upstate New York, her bandmates Straight and Wave are settled on the couches of their respective homes when we hop on Zoom together. “I was just watching the new Geordie Greep music video, and it’s crazy. Did you guys listen?” Straight asks her bandmates. “I told them to listen yesterday.” Having gushed about their black midi inspiration for the album’s more experimental, bombastic tracks, our conversation came right after the English rock band’s unfortunate “hiatus” announcement. “The breakup is very sad. But also, not that shocking—because I felt like that was coming,” Straight continues. “Now, we will never play with them.” With the certain staying power of Emita Ox, perhaps Hello Mary can open for black midi on their inevitable reunion tour in 30 years.

Having matured musically and personally since their first EP Ginger and last year’s self-titled, debut full-length, Hello Mary learned the power of patience when prepping for their sophomore album. “We took more time with each song and didn’t just settle on the first thing that came out,” Wave explains. “We wanted to be more critical, and I don’t want to say we have a higher standard, but we put more thought into things. Also, being open to different songs, having different vibes and catering to each one specifically, instead of just coming up with one way that is supposed to work for every song, was a refreshing change.” Their willingness to embrace the unknown resulted in the sublime menagerie that is Emita Ox.

Hello Mary owe some of that freedom to their co-producer Alex Farrar, who, during the recording process in Asheville, North Carolina earlier this year, gave them enough space to follow their whims as they arrived. “I remember one specific moment where I referenced an Aphex Twin song—that I can’t remember the name of—where the cymbal sounds are very industrial and wacky,” Wave recalls. “I don’t remember if we ended up using anything like that on Emita Ox, but it still was cool to try to reference particular sounds. In ‘Down My Life,’ there is a massive kick drum sound—I remember giving the reference to the Elliott Smith song ‘Everything Means Nothing to Me’ to Alex. He said, ‘Yep, okay, let’s put a 32-inch kick drum in front of the regular kick drum, and we’ll get this out.’” “Yeah, it was really awesome,” Straight adds. “Stella’s example is a great portrayal of [Alex’s] knowledge and ability to understand the weird things we described with our limited vernacular.”

Hello Mary took the opportunity to incorporate new instruments into their rotation in the studio this time around. “I’m very lucky that I had a friend’s upright bass that I could use,” Oppenheimer says. “We used that on a lot of songs, especially on ‘Three.’” “I feel like the upright is something we will definitely come back to because it’s like such a beautiful sound,” Wave adds. The trio also speak about adding piano into songs like “Heavy Sleeper” and “Everything We Do,” introducing an airiness they hadn’t been able to quite capture before. “I want to incorporate strings for the next record,” Straights emphasizes. “I got a viola for my last birthday. I asked my parents for one because I played in middle school. I thought it would be really easy to pick back up, but I feel very dumb when I try. But it’d be so sick if I could figure that out because I love strings so much.”

Bringing a sort of Blondie energy to Emita Ox, each song feels like it exists in its own genre, with the throughline being that distorted, gravelly mix of punk and noise rock that Hello Mary come by honestly with their New York City beginnings. Wave laughs as I recall being shaken out of a mid-afternoon stupor by the warped theatrics of “Hiyeahi” after being lulled into a trance by the dreamy vocals of “Courtesy” on my first listen. “We definitely wanted to keep the listener on their toes,” she explains. “We don’t want to make it too easy. I listened to PJ Harvey right before I got on this call—I’m obsessed with and love her, but she’s definitely a poet. She’s a great musician, but she’s a lyricist. It feels cool for us to leave the stories up for more interpretation.”

Though the band wanted to keep things vague regarding Emita Ox’s narrative, the insatiable need for answers has crafted a story for the album that isn’t exactly what they intended. Similar to other fables passed between generations, the story of Emita and her Ox has taken on a life of its own that the trio did not anticipate, and the record was never meant to be this grand conceptual fairytale. But when one writer eked out a response about the stinging guitar-centric “Three,” it tumbled into a fantastical story that matched the energy of the theatrical track. “It’s funny, because people latched onto that concept, but it’s not really true,” Straight laughs. “People like to know what every song is about, and it almost forces us to make something up. I don’t think we’re ever like, ‘Let’s just say it’s about this fairy tale of a girl and her ox.’ I don’t know how that happened. People tend to misinterpret the things that we say.”

Although there may not be an intentional concept around the record, so much of Emita Ox is rooted in nostalgia. From the abstract vintage mixtape on the album cover to Hello Mary’s characteristic ’90s fuzz sound, Emita Ox already feels like a classic. Although they explore new sounds like the deafening screams of “0%,” the nonlinear jazz-like structure of “Down My Life,” and the distorted psychedelics of “Courtesy,” Hello Mary’s grunge roots still linger throughout the record. The album has songs that span from 2018 to 2023, making their second record a saga of their own lexicon rather than some mythical, fictitious narrative. “It can definitely be very disturbing,” Straight says of dipping back into her past songbook, “not in a sad way, but hearing your voice back is always odd. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Damn, that was actually pretty cool.’ And it’s fun to revisit those things.”

Being New Yorkers is an intrinsic, albeit unconscious, part of the band’s sound. That identity leaks out in Emita Ox’s constant noise and layered chaos that can only come from living in ceaseless sound for the entirety of their youth. Oppenheimer, now living outside the commotion, has been exploring the novelty of nature and quiet now that she experiences it every day. “I go to school in Upstate New York, and I feel like, recently, when I make little songs on my own, I have been finding inspiration from nature,” she muses. For now though, Hello Mary are thriving in the relentless buzz of their NYC origins.

But the city isn’t the only thing that ties the three artists together. Over the last five years, Hello Mary have grown with each other not just as bandmates but as best friends. “It’s awesome,” Straight says of being able to experience this journey with her closest companions. “I don’t know how solo musicians do it. Even doing this with people who weren’t my best friends would be hard. So I’m really glad that it’s them and nobody else.” “When shitty stuff happens, it’s still funny because you’re like, with other people going through the same thing, and you can laugh through the misery,” Wave adds. “Even to have buddies to drink with or do stuff with.” Wave pauses as Oppenheimer clicks the ring icon on Zoom. “Mikaela, why are you proposing? Why do you have an engagement ring on your screen?”

The trio all break into a fit of laughter, offering a quick glimpse into the hijinks they get up to on the road and in their spaces away from music. Through all the narrative mystery, heavy soundscapes and deeply personal nature of their latest record, Straight, Wave and Oppenheimer manage to sprinkle a glimmer of rosiness in Emita Ox. With the maturity and nonconformity of their sound, it’s impossible to not be optimistic about Hello Mary having many more chances to galvanize the splendors of their playful, infectious spirit.

Olivia Abercrombie is Paste‘s Associate Music Editor, reporting from Austin, Texas. To hear her chat more about her favorite music, gush about old horror films, or rant about Survivor, you can follow her on Twitter @o_abercrombie.