The Mary Onettes @ Hus 7, Stockholm (01-06-23) + @ Nefertiti, Gothenburg (03-06-23)
A guest posting by Comrade Colin
After a period of relative radio silence – it has been close to five years since the ‘Cola Falls’ (2018) single release – Swedish band The Mary Onettes recently made a welcome return to making new music.
For sure, there had been a solo LP from lead singer/guitarist Philip Ekström – in the guise of H.MOON (‘Trustbood’, Welfare Sounds, 2020) – but that was very much his own thing.
In early 2022 rumours started to emerge online that the band were recording again for the innovative Gothenburg-based label Welfare Sounds and, right enough, in July that year the gorgeous slow-burning pop single ‘What I feel in some places’ was released digitally and on cassette tape, alongside two other new songs (‘Mind on fire’ and ‘Palace’).
Not content with this much-anticipated reintroduction, in March 2023, another glorious pop single appeared entitled ‘Easy hands’ (backed with the glacial quasi-instrumental song ‘Pearl Machine’) Those catchy riffs were instantly recognisable as The Mary Onettes. The band – with all original members present – were back with a vengeance and could still land a catchy riff and a heartfelt vocal.
And then, in May 2023, yet another single emerged via Welfare Sounds – ‘Forever before love’. This time, the single was backed with a song called ‘Future Grief’ which is a duet between Philip and the wonderfully talented Agnes Aldén (this a song that dates back to 2016, so it was great to finally hear it). I would say, for me, this is one of the best duets that I’ve ever heard (but more will be said about this song in a moment).
It is a truism, of course, but after an absence the heart does indeed grow fonder. The new material, to my ears at least, represents an extension and development of the material and sound to be found across all four albums they released for the Swedish label Labrador between 2007-2014 (‘The Mary Onettes’, 2007; ‘Islands’, 2009; ‘Hit the Waves’, 2013; ‘Portico’, 2014).
Then, in early 2023, news circulated of possible live shows. This was even more unexpected than the run of new singles. The band, as The Mary Onettes, had not played a gig since at least 2017, and even before this year their live shows were somewhat sporadic and almost never happened outside of their native Sweden (there had been a US tour, in early 2015, but this was the exception, not the norm).
A friend and I had always said we’d travel anywhere in Europe to see them play. If dates were to be announced, we had to be there. As it turned out, four dates were given: two in May 2023 (a warm-up show in Malmö and the Park Sounds festival in Huskvarna and two small club shows early on in the following month (Stockholm and Gothenburg).
Unfortunately, in the end, my pal couldn’t make these dates and stayed in Glasgow. I decided to venture forth and attend the latter gigs in June solo, via a journey that has now involved buses, trains, airplanes, trams, and my very tired legs (I am writing this at the airport in Gothenburg waiting for a flight back to Scotland).
In short, the last few days have been a life-changing time. But I will spare you those aspects. I will just focus on the music and the gigs.
The first show I saw was in Stockholm. I travelled by train from Gothenburg to get to this as the flights that worked best were between Edinburgh and Gothenburg. It was at a small venue called Hus 7 (House 7).
This was quite tricky to locate as it turned out, even with Google maps, but I thought I’d found it. I stood in the queue with an expectant audience that did not look to me like a typical (I imagined) The Mary Onettes audience. There was a lot of black clothing, a lot of chains, and a lot of deathly stares through thick eye make-up. I got to the front of the queue and the security guy looked at my ticket, then at me, and just laughed: “No, no… you need that place over there… [pointing at a doorway leading to another venue, next door]… this is a metal night. A very different thing!”. If I had been granted access to my mistaken location, well, that could have led to a very different kind of outcome and review.
The support act for the Stockholm show were called Lovi Did This and they were very good. Quite inventive in a soundtrack kind of way, embracing a range of instruments and styles (I would recommend ‘The Fish Song’ as an example). The lead singer prowled the stage with real confidence, and I admired that a lot.
The Mary Onettes took to the Hus 7 stage just after 9pm – with a gentle ‘hello’ from lead-singer Philip – to the drum pattern for ‘Puzzles’, the opening track from their 2009 LP ‘Islands’. It was a blistering start and it felt like a dream coming true. I sensed the goosebumps emerging and a lump in my dry throat… emotions were taking over. If you know their music at all, then I’m sure you can relate to this… they can cut you to the bone.
From this start we then had the pleasure of a 16-song set that covered most of their album and single releases, from the likes of ‘Lost’, ‘Slow’, and ‘Void’ to ‘God Knows I had Plans’, ‘Evil Coast’, and ‘The Night before the Funeral’ (before playing this latter song, Philip dedicated it to those who had travelled far to be there… including a certain city in Scotland).
Glasgow represents.
The real surprise of this show was the final song of the encore from the Det Vackra Livet 2011 release (‘Barn Av En Istid’). This was a one-off album made for Labrador by the brotherly team of Philip and Henrik Ekström. The lyrics are all in Swedish, and it is a truly beautiful record that adds to the strengths of what Philip does as a songwriter. The song, ‘Barn Av En Istid’ – translated as ‘Children of an ice age’), is one that slowly builds and builds and is a fragile thing that becomes fully-formed and one of those songs that ultimately becomes a soundtrack for important moments in your life. Had I theoretically heard this song before it was recorded, when I was a teenager in the late 1980s, this track would have ended side-B of every mix tape I ever made. One of those tracks.
On the Friday, I travelled back to Gothenburg from Stockholm by train for the second The Mary Onettes gig the next evening. In between I managed to see Suede play a free open-air gig on the Friday night by the new Hisingsbron bridge – to mark the 400-year anniversary of the city – and attend an IFK Gotëburg football match on the Saturday afternoon, but that tale is for another time. They lost 1-0 to Mjällby, for what it is worth, and it turns out Swedish football is just as frustrating as Scottish football. Suede played a kind of ‘greatest hits’ set and were, genuinely, taken aback by the response from the audience. They had them in the palm of their hand.
The Gothenburg The Mary Onettes show – an early one due to a club night starting at 10pm – was held at an old jazz/soul club called Nefertiti, just by the university campus in the city. Like Hus 7 it was going to be an intimate event. Philip and I had a brief chat before the show, and I nervously thanked him for the shows and the ‘shout-out’ in Stockholm. He was still a bit stunned I’d travelled solo all the way from Glasgow to see the band play in two different cities in Sweden. I had mentioned my plans on Twitter/Instagram earlier this year, just after the gigs were announced. I just replied: “But your music matters, of course I had to be here. I had to be here!”.
The support act for the Nefertiti show was Karl Vento, a very talented multi-instrumentalist who also now plays keyboards with The Mary Onettes (he has been with them the last 4-5 years or so). His set was mainly acoustic and electric guitar but aided and abetted via a very impressive pedal board. He created some magical sounds and had a very sweet vocal delivery, reminding me of Nick Drake and the Manchester musican Danny Saul. You can listen to Karl’s 2022 album ‘Rainbow Lights’ via his Bandcamp page.
The Mary Onettes hit the stage not long after 8:30pm at Nefertiti and played an intense and fast set similar to the Stockholm one, but with a few key variations. One such difference, and the highlight for all of us who were present, was a semi-acoustic version of ‘Future Grief’ (the new duet with Agnes Aldén). The surprise appearance of Agnes on stage to sing with Philip added to the emotional intensity: the reflexive refrain of “Letting other people down” really cut the skin and hit home. Karl was on stage for this song as well, adding some electronica to the acoustic mix.
Before we knew it, the show was over… 70 minutes passed by so quickly. As they left the stage, Philip and Petter Agurén, the other guitarist in the band, both thanked those of us who had travelled a distance to attend – Spain, Germany, Scotland and elsewhere. After the show I managed to speak with Petter who kindly gifted me a signed setlist.
I also went to a club called Folk, near Järntorget, to hang out with them after the show. I was quite nervous and anxious about intruding into their post-gig space, but both Philip and Petter reassured me they wanted me to be there. We had a great conversation, including a lively discussion about the best song on the Cure LP ‘Wish’ (either ‘From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea’ or ‘To Wish Impossible Things’) and their best album (I would say ‘Faith’, Philip argues for ‘Disintegration’… both answers are actually correct).
As I sit here at the airport reflecting on these last few days, I just feel incredibly lucky and fortunate to be able to do things like this, not that I actually do them that often. In fact, the last time I travelled such a distance to see a live show it was fellow-Swedes The Radio Dept who were playing at the Kantine am Berghain in Berlin, February 2017. The band had a Glasgow show at the CCA cancelled, unfortunately, so a trip to Berlin it had to be.
It might be a Swedish thing. They do tend to make the best indie music. Or it might just be the power and draw of live music that speaks to you. We need to feel that connection and shared identity through singing along to every word, as your stand before your heroes who give their all for the cause. I don’t care if you are 16 or 61, you feel it and you need it. Music matters.
How to find the essential? The five songs below capture the main ingredients of the two shows I attended. I only hope you like them as much as I do, and then buy the albums they come from.
Thanks to JC, as ever, for giving me the space to say these words. And thanks for reading if you made it this far. I do go on a bit (as JC knows well).
‘Comrade Colin’
Gothenburg Airport
04-06-23 @ 16:17
PS, A musical recommendation from Petter – the LP ‘Nordsjøen’ by the Bergen-based musician, John Olav Nilsen (2017). It is excellent. This album is also worth your time and ears.
PPS, Hello to Thomas who travelled to both shows from Germany, who I have just met at the airport right now. Musical solidarity, mein freund!
The Mary Onettes – ‘Puzzles’ (4.32) – from the 2009 LP ‘Islands’.
The Mary Onettes – ‘Slow’ (4.24) – from the 2007 LP ‘The Mary Onettes’
The Mary Onettes – ‘Cola Falls’ (4.03) – from the 2018 single ‘Cola Falls’ (recently re-released on vinyl, here)
The Mary Onettes (with Agnes Aldén) – ‘Future Grief’ (3.41) – from the 2023 single ‘Forever Before Love’
Det Vackra Livet – ‘Barn Av En Istid’ (4.25) – from the 2011 LP ’Det Vackra Livet’
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 