Brooklyn’s Hello Mary is what happens when teenage angst meets a fearless approach to noise. Their upcoming album ‘Emita Ox’ is slated for release on September 13th, 2024, via Frenchkiss Records.

Formed in 2018 when Helena Straight and Mikaela Oppenheimer were barely out of middle school, these kids started messing around on SoundCloud. Now, with Stella Wave on drums, they’ve grown into a force of nature, blending shoegaze, noise rock, and post-rock into something as chaotic as it is ethereal.

Their early stuff? Think 90s alt-rock homage. But ‘Emita Ox,’ their upcoming album dropping September 13th, is a whole new beast. This record is where they stop nodding to the past and start kicking down the doors of the future. The lead single, ‘0%,’ is a sonic grenade that’s already blowing up—featured everywhere from The New York Times to Rolling Stone.

Live, they’ve already proven themselves. Touring with Silversun Pickups, American Football, and DIIV, Hello Mary has earned support from the likes of KEXP, SXSW, and early champions within the musical community, including Tanya Donelly (Belly), Britta Phillips (Luna), and Julia Cummings (Sunflower Bean).

“We have a lot of elements in this record that would surprise the past versions of ourselves”

I would love to hear about where you grew up and what eventually led you to become interested in music.

Helena Straight: We all grew up in Brooklyn. My parents are both into the greatest bands, which is how I first got into rock music. It took me a while, though. I was addicted to Taylor Swift from ages 9 to 13 and had no interest in the music they showed me. Thank God I came around.

Stella Wave: My mom is a drummer who enjoys similar music to Helena’s parents. She introduced me to a lot of great music, and watching her play was always inspiring to me.

Mikaela Oppenheimer: My parents don’t really listen to the same type of music as me—I grew up playing jazz and was interested in music through that. When I met Helena in middle school, we both started getting into rock bands.

What were some of the first bands or projects you were a part of? Can you share more about them?

Helena: Mikaela and I met each other when we were 12 and started playing music together under Hello Mary when we were 14. I’ve basically been playing with her for as long as I’ve been a musician, which makes me feel very spoiled. I haven’t really been in any other projects.

Stella: I’ve been in a couple of other bands before Hello Mary, when I was in high school. I did very similar stuff to what I do now in Hello Mary—playing drums, writing songs, and singing.

What led to the formation of Hello Mary?

Helena: Mikaela and I met in sixth grade and started Hello Mary in 2018 when we were in eighth grade. We put out a couple of demos on SoundCloud when we were 15 with zero expectations, and somebody randomly reached out and asked us to play a show. We didn’t have a drummer (my dad recorded drums on those two demos), so we asked the organizer if they knew anyone who could play the show with us. She put us in touch with Stella, who was 18, and we played the show after having one rehearsal. And we never parted.

Your new single ‘0%’ marks a departure from your earlier work, blending elements of shoegaze, noise rock, and post-rock. How did your creative process evolve to achieve this new sound on ‘Emita Ox’?

Stella: We were just playing around in our practice space, and it kind of naturally evolved. I think we knew we wanted to write something a bit more angular and intense, so that definitely played a role.

You’ve mentioned drawing inspiration from bands like Silversun Pickups and American Football. How have these influences shaped your approach to songwriting and production on the upcoming album?

Helena: Some of the artists we were listening to going into the studio were Radiohead, Air, Elliott Smith, PJ Harvey, Big Thief, The Books, and black midi. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how they have influenced our songwriting. We were definitely inspired to use production to our advantage for this record, which was new for us.

‘Emita Ox’ seems to promise a more experimental approach. Could you delve into the thematic or conceptual threads that tie the album together?

Stella: I don’t think there are many deliberate conceptual threads that tie the album together. I think a lot of the songs express sadness and pain, though. Maybe that is a common thread, lol.

From ‘Ginger’ to your self-titled album in 2023, and now ‘Emita Ox’, how has the band’s musical journey unfolded?

Mikaela: So much has changed! Which makes sense—we have a lot of elements in this record that would surprise the past versions of ourselves.

Are you excited to support American Football?

Stella: Of course!

Your music has been described as both ethereal and chaotic. How do you balance these contrasting elements in your songwriting process?

Stella: I think intimate songwriting and involved instrumentation are both very important to us. Whenever I’ve brought in a song to the rest of the band, it tends to transform into something more suited for a band context. So something that starts out more intimate and emotional becomes more chaotic and playful.

Could you share some insights into the production techniques employed on ‘Emita Ox’?

Helena: I’d say about 40% of the production ideas were formed before going into the studio. There were a lot of question marks about how they would actually be executed, and our producer, Alex, did an incredible job bringing them to life.

What are your future plans?

Stella: Lots of touring, hehe.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found anything new lately that you would like to recommend to our readers?

Helena: We’ve all been really into This Is Lorelei’s whole discography, which is expansive as fuck. My favorite albums right now: ‘Talkie Walkie’ by Air, ‘In It for the Money’ by Supergrass, and ‘Dummy’ by Portishead.

Stella: Hmm… really liking ‘Your Day Will Come’ by Chanel Beads. Also ‘Future Perfect’ by Autolux and ‘Plastic Beach’ by Gorillaz.

Mikaela: Listening to ‘Up in Flames’ by Caribou and ‘Make Me Hard’ by Noriko Tujiko!