Exclusive track premiere of ‘Eyes’ by The Mary Veils, the second single taken from their upcoming album, ‘Esoteric Hex’, due March 25 via PNKSLM Recordings.

Taking their cues from the classic punk of New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders and The Dickies, as well as more contemporary influences like Osees and Hot Snakes, The Mary Veils’ musical DNA is one rooted deeply in the intersection between riffery and melody; the album walks a tightrope between the rock and roll fizz of opener ‘Bone Blossom Green’ or the spiraling guitar scuzz of ‘A Tether’, and the psych-tinged, hook-driven likes of ‘Circled Omens’ and ‘Fuzzy’. At the centre of what makes ‘Esoteric Hex’ tick, though, is the band’s hometown itself; as Von Uff explains, this is a love letter to Philly.

“The song is loosely based on something I read on Kelpius’s society of religious monks -a bunch of German doomsday fanatics from the 17th century who ended up living in a cave outside of Philadelphia. As well as incorrectly predicting the end of the world, Kelpius wrote his own music, and has been referred to as ‘Pennsylvania’s first composer.’ The riff was banging around for a while in my head, and we like the feeling of existential dread. Most people have eyes. Most use them for seeing. Believe half of what you see. Seeing isn’t always believing.” The Mary Veils

The album was tracked swiftly and entirely live, within a few months of the new lineup coming together, over a number of weekends at Jessie Gimbel’s basement studio in Upper Darby, PA. Once ‘Esoteric Hex’ had been mixed by Cory Hanson and Jeff Zeigler — who between them have worked with the likes of The War on Drugs, Ty Segall and Kurt Vile — The Mary Veils were ready to unleash this mission statement of a record upon the world, only for fate to intervene. “We’ve been sitting on the album since the start of the pandemic,” says Von Uff.

“Philadelphia is a very unique place, and while it’s a major city, it’s kind of the forgotten cousin of New York. It’s the abandoned capital of the United States, but we like the abuse. This album is in many ways about Philadelphia, and how the people here are unique and have that fighting mentality. We all want to keep getting better, and we don’t ever quit.”

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