Clari Freeman-Taylor, frontperson of Mary in the junkyard, describes the band's origin as a leap of imagination. "I was in the car with my previous band and was like, 'Imagine if there was a band called Mary in the junkyard?' I thought that would be a much cooler name than our band name," she recalls. The name already existed in her mind, and she found it.
Freeman-Taylor, a cello-wielding artist-songwriter-mystic, felt she had found a treasure. Borrowing a letter press from her printmaker sister, she made a poster: "It had a picture of a big hand and said, 'Mary in the junkyard — sound circus — open your mind and ears.' I gave one to David, saying this is my new imaginary band, and we made it exist from there."
From Imaginary Band to Real-World Gigs
Freeman-Taylor was already playing her own songs on London's folk scene. When she bagged a gig at the Cavendish Arms in Stockwell, she saw an opportunity for Mary in the junkyard to enter the real world. Alongside drummer David Addison, she brought in bassist Saya Barbaglia, both classically-trained. Things came together fast. "We kept getting gigs. It was exciting and punky and we played silly songs," says Addison. They had a song called Graham the Snail and another based on 7 Days by Craig David.
The band found a home at the Windmill, the Brixton pub that nurtured Black Midi and The Last Dinner Party. "Tim [Perry, band booker] from the Windmill really championed us," says Freeman-Taylor. "He basically is your agent and links you up with a bunch of people. We were opening up for like every suitable gig at the Windmill for maybe the first six months."
Creating a Distinct Sound and World
Spurred on, they toured and wrote relentlessly, developing a sound both distinct and elusive. They adopted a playful, experimental attitude for their debut album, utilising odd sounds and homemade instruments. "Saya made a skateboard slide guitar which we used on a few songs," says Addison. "It's a skateboard with guitar strings and a pick-up. You play it with a peri-peri sauce bottle."
The result, released a few weeks ago, is Role Model Hermit. Dreamy lead-off singles New Muscles and Crash Landing are already 6 Music favourites. The album shows depths of storytelling, where Freeman-Taylor's personal confessions are told through characters and allegory. "The album's been received as a slightly spooky haunted thing which I guess comes from the cover," says Freeman-Taylor. "It does feel like an artefact I guess, but to us it was such a fun process making it, instinctive and energetic."
Building a Creative Community
Not long after a tour with Wet Leg in the States, the band all moved into the same block in Deptford with friends. They were soon writing new songs for a second album while working on visuals for the current one on their shared rooftop. "It's a great space and our friends living there helped with the creative side of the album, building the world," says Addison.
Signed to All My Friends Records, they operate outside major labels. Freeman-Taylor says, "There's so much less infrastructure from the music industry and if you're on an indie label you're responsible for more of your own promotion and marketing. But then it's a good thing as well because we've been in charge of all the videos and all the album covers — we haven't had label interference."
They talk with caution about quitting day jobs. "Making a stable career out of it… but at the moment it's about making rent," says Addison. Freeman-Taylor is moving to Brighton, saying, "The sea is calling me." Barbaglia is training to be an MMA fighter. They are touring in September, including a date at Heaven in London. "I've been building a large ship," says Freeman-Taylor. "Not a real one, a sculpture. It's like a lantern, it's gonna be like a bright light above the stage."
