Diane has been wasting her talents writing music reviews for Amazon. com so I said to her, "Why not give me something on Mary Magdalen to put in Punk Globe?".  This little singer has seen hell and back and uses her sorrow to power the humongous voice barreling out of the little body that is Mary Magdalen.  Hope you enjoy this piece, here ya go as Diane wrote it:

If you haven't heard of Mary Magadalan, then it's only a matter of time before you're made aware. Unbeknownst to me until recently, Social Networking Websites (in this case, Myspace) have a very active underground music vibe. A plethora of these artists are either unsigned or on an indie label. For a music lover such as myself, this is akin to a chocolate lover having power over tasting all the chocolate that is made in a chocolate factory.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Myspace, you have to either get a request to be on a "Friend" list, or make such a request. I received such a request from Mary herself, and added her to the many other bands who had been hitting me up to listen to their music or band.

When you first see Mary, you might feel the urge to run as far as you can. I equate her to that book that has the ominous cover. You're afraid to open the book, but if you don't, you might miss the really thought-provoking or entertaining story that just might be contained within.

Mary Magadalan consists of Mary, Gzus and Eric B. Mary herself looks like a punk-rocker, metal-banger's dream. She's a delicate-looking thing in stature, but with her multi-colored hair, facial piercings, haunting aqua-blue eyes, funky make-up, and rock-chic garb, she commands your attention.

Once you get past the "look", the next thing to contend with is that "voice" This girl has such intensely raw emotion coming from her vocal cords; it bypasses your ears and hits you in the gut. The sound of the band itself is something unique that I find myself floundering to describe or put a label to. Words sometimes make one fill inadequate in providing a description, but I will try my best. I would say this sound comprises of rock at its most raw, a little punk, a little bit of trippy hip-hop, and evocative melodies.

"Pity Girl" is a chaotic trip ride consisting of 13 chapters of concentrated, bare-bones emotion, rub-salt-in-the-wound pain, and unshakable strength and determination. The album, which was put together and recorded by the band alone, without a stifling big-wig record label or controlling producer, is guts served on a platter for human consumption. There is no such thing as a "filler" song on this piece of work. Every song is strong and one runs into the other, telling a story like a movie. The movie is starring a very hurt, scared, and searching soul who chased her dragons and danced with the devil. Drugs and darkness are the central themes, catering to the feelings of hurt and betrayal as a result of growing up with death, addiction, lack of love, lies and pain.

You would think, with all of this macabre subject matter hitting you over the head it would get you really down, but it appears to have the opposite affect on me. I compare Pity Girl to an exorcism – I feel purged.

This is an album that paints the most graphic picture of the drug world that I have ever heard. The drug use is two-fold – the person who, as a little girl, grew up with a mother who was a heroin addict and the girl who grew up to use drugs as a pacifier for her demons. There is the pain of growing up with addiction around you, and then, due to life circumstances, continuing the cycle of addiction by becoming the addicted. You see, this isn't glorification of drugs that is portrayed here like so many other "rock stars" have done in the past. Such an excruciating picture is painted that I would be scared shitless to ever travel down a road similar to the one that is being presented to me. You don't have to be an addict, nor do you have to be the person who has an addict in their life; you just have to be affected by pain to get the gist here.

This band isn't for the faint-of-heart. This is for those of us who like a helping of balls with our coffee in the morning. This grabs you by the throat and leaves you gasping for air. Yet, it keeps you going back for more. Admitting the latter makes it painfully obvious that "Junkie", whether in a literal sense or not, is a good word for the Mary Magadalan fan and follower.

Marvelous Mary has "it". She has that extra something. She makes you want to hug her and cheer her on at the same time. She went through her proverbial hell to end up writing an album about it with a kick-ass band. It's only a matter of time before civilization beyond Myspace discovers this gem.

Written by: Diane Trautweiler on 7/13/08.

       

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