Hello Mary - ‘Emita Ox’ Review: A perfect re-introduction to one of the most exciting female bands on the rise.
Emita Ox is fearless, focused, and fascinating.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Credit: Hello Mary 📸
Hello Mary’s sophomore effort Emita Ox is a carefully considered fireball of energy, creativity and emotion wrapped up as the perfect re-introduction to one of the most exciting female bands on the rise.
Released via Frenchkiss Records and co-produced alongside Alex Farrar (MJ Lenderman, Indigo De Souza, Snail Mail), the Brooklyn-trio (Helena Straight, Stella Wave, and Mikaela Oppenheimer) have walked to the ends of the world to cut through the noise.
Emita Ox is a fearless, focused, and fascinating follow-up intended to keep you on your toes. To the band, it’s also their ‘true debut’, after an enormous departure in their original approach to songwriting and production.
Titled after a fairytale lyric in Three, the album references the band’s coming-of-age perseverance. The record features tracks from between 2018 and 2023, capturing five years of love, pain, challenge, and Life. Sonically, no stone was left unturned, plucking influence from every corner of music. A noticeable authenticity is also at play, which can be found in their visceral live performances around the world.
From sinister bass lines to grungy guitar riffs and shoegaze vocals, Emita Ox is a turbulent journey. However, one which rewards patience and attention. Each track, out of 11, knows how to pull at your emotions with individual charm.
Drummer Stella Wave explains: “This album represents a period of time that’s very meaningful to us. The songs are related to things that we all know about, even if it’s not out on the table for everyone else. The songwriting and recording process was a very heavy time that I will never forget.”
Float sets the scene using an intricate riff and bedding in the dark undertones that’ll soon seep through later in the record. It may be a slow burn, but the sudden screech of guitars makes all the anticipation worth it. This chaotic burst of sound is foreshadowing upcoming heavier moments.
0% and Down My Life follow suit but with a chugging bass line and punk-esque vocals. These pockets of rage encapsulate a newfound liberation, whereas Three and Heavy Sleeper offers cinematic dreamscapes to dive into much more reminiscent of Wolf Alice or Newdad.
One of our favourites is Footstep Misstep, which came with an eye-catching music video, and is the strongest of the tracklist. There’s Radiohead, Massive Attack, Weezer and even Joy Division bursting through. It’s too impressive, and we’d be hard-pressed to criticise a track with such substance both lyrically and musically.
Continuing, Wave details: “I’ve been practising following my intuition rather than adopting what other people want me to think. It's been a prominent recurring theme for me this year, so I was trying to encapsulate the way that feels for me in these lyrics."
Elsewhere, Hiyeahi is another standout. While only a short musical interlude, it serves as a palette cleanser and demonstrates an ambition for experimentation. Bubble and Everything We Do end the record on a fairly high note, among an otherwise dark collection of songs.
For a band that has so much to say, and so much to give, Hello Mary has dialled everything up in all the right places on Emita Ox without second guessing.
Where some bands falter on their second rodeo, this Brooklyn trio looked inward and re-invented themselves from the ground up. The result is a breathtaking album and a guiding light for seeing opportunity in darkness. One which strives
Purchase the album, or catch the band on tour.
Now, it’s your turn. Give it a spin, and tell us what you think on Insta or X.
Rating: 8/10
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