Mary in the Junkyard – ‘Role Model Hermit’ album review: As perfect as a debut gets
Here it is. The tricky debut album. How many times have we seen bands gain a bit of momentum and then lose it all the minute that first LP hits the airwaves? Well, it’s Mary in the Junkyard’s turn to bat, and I’m happy to report, they’ve knocked this debut record out of the park.
The Skinny: Mary in the Junkyard’s new album opens with ‘Mantra III’, a repetitive song, which succeeds in creating a strange sense of both beauty and unease. Chord runs are plucked, percussion is sporadic and refuses to follow a specific time signature, while the words “this is yours, babe, you deserve it” are eerily uttered over and over again.
With that opening track, the band take you and plants you firmly in a succinct pocket of music, before giving you plenty of time to have a look around and make yourself at home. What unfolds for the next 30 minutes isn’t a steady emergence from that pocket; instead, the fabric grows looser, and the hole falls deeper, as you are plunged further and further into one of the most layered, beautiful and well put together debuts in a long time.
The next two tracks, ‘Blood’ and ‘Seek And Destroy’, are more uptempo, following a pretty standard pattern, but one that allows the listener to find their feet slightly. As tracks reel off afterwards, one after the other, the stitching in this pocket is interwoven with atmosphere, poetry, and even occasional hits of funk.
It’s rare that you hear a debut album sound so perfectly fleshed out and put together, but this isn’t Mary in the Junkyard’s first stab at music. The band have been working out the kinks in these songs at DIY live shows for years now, alongside releasing EPs acclaimed by both critics and fans, as well as ensuring their headspace was right to finally commit to making what can be an incredibly daunting record.
“Making this album was a big deal,” said vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Clari Freeman-Taylor. “And we had been given this opportunity that we’d worked really hard towards. It felt really important to have a space to prepare myself and everyone before going into the album.”
This debut sees Mary in the Junkyard really perfect their craft. It’s experimental and yet accessible, haphazard and yet sophisticated, haunting and yet comforting. One of the highlights comes in the form of ‘Crash Landing’, a song with an atmosphere so thick you can grab on and climb to the top of it, as the melancholic instrumentation provides the perfect backdrop for a track about the end of a relationship and toxic masculinity.
Without a doubt, one of the best things about the entire album is Freeman-Taylor’s vocals. They’re about as delicate as the silence they break, but she has such a wonderful control over them that they provide a sense of comfort throughout the LP’s whole runtime.
How many bands have we seen fall at the final hurdle when releasing a debut record? Too many to count, but Mary in the Junkyard isn’t one of them.
Standout Track: ‘Crash Landing’
The Verdict: It’s about as perfect as a debut album gets – Mary in the Junkyard have delivered an incredibly varied listen on their new record, with every song different from the last, but each of them tied together with musical perfection.
Release Date: July 3rd, 2026 | Producer: Oli Bayston | Label: AMF
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