Album Review: Hayley Mary - The Piss, The Perfume

A debut solo release can be a terrifying proposition after quite a few years in a much-loved band – both for the player themselves, and for the fans. Usually it’s a welcome offering; sometimes it’s better to leave it to the group format and wonder what might have been. Thankfully in the case of Jezabels frontwoman Hayley Mary, her first foray into solo territory is an assured and largely rewarding move. The Piss, The Perfume plays to her strengths. 

Mary wrote the EP in Edinburgh, after moving to Scotland to live "the simple life". That yearning for something simpler feels like it’s manifested in Like A Woman Should, in which Mary admits “I wish that I was born in another time”, singing over offbeat, fun, guitar-driven pop. The title track and lead single similarly plays with that feeling, but with more punch, as does Brat. If only Ordinary Me and Holly were as strong. But all in all it’s a tidy first step into the solo spotlight.