Mary In The Junkyard - The Grand Social

Mary In The Junkyard - - The Grand Social

Words: Jack Collum

Mary in the Junkyard shyly serenaded a-packed-to-the-rafters Grand Social crowd with their sinister lullabies full of longing and unsatiated desire while sweat ran down the walls in the flicker of what we mistakenly branded an Indian Summer in our Irish impetuosity. The London based trio treated concertgoers to tunes from their debut album Role Model Hermit and a spattering of older singles. Frontwoman Clari Freeman Taylor coyly crooned with an undeniable tinge of Adrienne Lenker that sent tingles the body over and tickled her guitar and produced those goosebump jangles from an array of alternate tunings. Saya Barbaglia on bass calmly hopped from foot to foot with the restrained energy of Duracell bunny supplying the band's compositions with their indispensable oomph while David Addison’s minimalist and capacious ingenuity on the drums created the necessary space for his bandmates to breathe. 

Ghastly ethereal, the crowd was hypnotised by the sheer anarchic beauty of the music. Heads banged and tears rolled as they unleashed their polite violence upon us. Between the breaks in the set list, fans shouted out for the songs they wanted to hear - New Muscles, Crash Landing - and shockingly big tunes such as Drains and Marble Arch were absent from the set which no doubt left some present upset but nonetheless ecstatic in the knowledge the band they adore are evolving at an impressive pace. As the set came to a close with Mouse it seemed they were almost going to apologise for taking us to places we wanted to go and giving us more than what we could have dreamed of.