[ATTENDED: September 15, 2025] Mary in the Junkyard
Mary in the Junkyard is a trio from London. The band consists of vocalist and guitarist Clari Freeman-Taylor, viola and bass player Saya Barbaglia and drummer David Addison.
I had never heard of them and they have an EP and some singles out, so they are pretty new.
I listened to the singles today and rather liked them. But they really didn’t come across very well at Franklin Music Hall. It felt like everything was wrong to me. The drums were really loud. The guitars were sometimes loud, but Clari’s vocals were always quiet–very hard to hear.
I had pretty high hopes for their set because the songs had really interesting components–guitar lines or when Saya switched from bass to viola and added some really weird sounds to the songs. But None of the songs had any hooks. Which is weird because they’re there on the album.
I suspect that seeing them in a smaller venue (FMH is quite cavernous) would suit their sound much better. I’d be interested in seeing them again, but in a small club.
At least the crowd reacted positively to them–and there was a lot to like–they just never won me over (and I love finding great opening bands).
I’m assuming this is the setlist. It’s what they’d played at most of their shows
- Drains §
- Blood
- Midori
- Goop ∠
- New Muscles
- Web
- Tuesday ¾
- This is my California ¼
§ single (2025)
¼ single (2024)
¾ single (2023)
∠ This Old House ()
I Just Read About That... 