The Mary Onettes’ critically acclaimed debut was described as "the perfect mix between a-ha and The Jesus and Mary Chain". Now they are back with a grandiose new album entitled 'Islands'. Imagine a Swedish equivalent of The National on a diet of speed, Planet Earth DVDs, and 80’s guitar pop singles and you’ll have a vague idea of how great this album is. 'Pleasure Songs', from their self-titled debut album, was Single of the Week on iTunes with half a million downloads, and the first single from 'Islands', 'Dare', was No. 1 on Elbo.ws. They have had two songs featured on Grey’s Anatomy and their first single on Labrador was tagged Best New Music on Pitchfork. A second single, 'Puzzles' was released at the end of last month.
Moody, dark and ethereal, fog, forests and darkness set the scene for the video for the new single, 'Puzzles'. The plucked strings, synthezisers and stoic vocals echo the emotional year that the Mary Onettes experienced. Haunting images of a man searching for answers through various empty settings drive home the distress of the artist, especially when coupled with these lyrics:
"Do I have time to think, do I have time to sink? To make it look alright I need to bend my soul. Those things we never did, those things we never said. I’ll be a numb one day. I’m going out to stay up all night. Let’s talk about what feels strange on the inside. Let’s make this year look good tonight. I know it hasn’t been the best year so let me know. Do you feel strange on the inside? "
Watch the video for The Mary Onettes new single 'Puzzles'
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Get downloads of both Elbo.ws #1 singles 'Puzzles' and 'Dare' Download 'Puzzles' MP3 - HERE
The Mary Onettes launched their career in 2004, and were signed by Stockholm's groundbreaking Labrador Records in 2006 (The Legends, The Radio Dept. and Little Big Adventure) , who released the 'Lost' EP in the fall of that year, with the debut album following in 2007. Even though things have been going well for the band, they had their share of misfortune. While recording 'Islands' last year, and with 5-6 songs almost finished, an unlikely series of events occurred - the computer on which they recorded the songs got stolen, and at the same time, the back-up drive broke, which meant they had to start again from the very beginning. As unlucky as it seemed at the time, it was probably a blessing in disguise as 'Islands' might not have turned out quite as amazing as it did if this hadn’t happened! The re-recordings are more lively, and they used more organic instruments like strings, pianos, and children’s choirs than they had originally intended.
The year 2008 was characterized by the deaths of close relatives and friends of Philip Ekström (singer and songwriter of the band) and on 'Islands' he’s put more focus on the lyrics. 'The Disappearance Of My Youth' and 'Cry For Love' were written on his girlfriend’s mother’s estate and most of the songs on the album are highly marked by his time in Stockholm after her death. “The songs are almost too personal and I’ve had a hard time playing them for friends. It’s like all I want to do is keep them to myself.” (Philip). The lyrics are retrospective themes of lost youth, transience and death.
”The title ‘Islands’ came up because I see the tracks on the album as small islands in different shapes and forms where every song is like a record of it’s very own. Johan (Labrador Records) suggested the same title without having heard me mentioning the idea, so that was a coincidence too good not to pursue.”(Philip)The Mary Onettes live show is not to be missed!
HOLY MARY!
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The Mary Onettes to release 'Islands' November 3rd and announce US Tour Dates
(Labrador Records)
US Tour Dates:
11/03 - TT The Bear - Boston, MA 11/04 - Union Hall - Brooklyn, NY 11/06 - Studio (Webster Hall) - New York, NY 11/07 - Kung Fu Necktie - Philadelphia, PA
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The Mary Onettes Announce US Dates
Download 'Puzzles' MP3 - 
Puzzles: The Mary Onettes Release New Single