The Mary Onettes – “Hit The Waves”
I wrote a whole bunch about the forthcoming third album from Sweden’s the Mary Onettes back when the album’s first single, “Evil Coast,” was released. In brief: I’m a pretty big fan of the band, and I’m especially excited for this one, because it’s produced by Dan Lissvik of STUDIO, another Swedish band I was a big fan of (till they split up). “Hit The Waves” is the new album’s title track, and I think you can really hear Lissvik’s influence here: Where previous Mary Onettes records were melancholic new wave, this has a breezy, dubby Balearic feel — Lissvik’s stock-in-trade. I previously wondered if the beach imagery prevalent in the titles here (“Hit The Waves,” “Evil Coast”) was intended ironically, as the Mary Onettes have always to me seemed like a chilly band. But it’s worth pointing out that STUDIO released an album called West Coast, and a song called “Life’s A Beach,” and that band’s music, to me, was strictly a summertime pleasure. Check it out for yourself, let me know what you think.
Hit The Waves is out 3/12 via Labrador.