Mary In the Junk Yard

Album Launch Show - HMV Manchester - 5pm July 9th 2026

Story by Amanda Holborn

13/07/2026

Fresh from releasing their debut album, Mary In The Junkyard brought their chaotic charm and intimate intensity to a packed HMV Manchester.

There was something refreshingly unpolished about Mary In The Junkyard's stripped-back in-store set at HMV Manchester. Celebrating the release of their debut album, the London trio transformed the shop floor into an intimate space where around 60 fans – largely young women – hung on every offbeat anecdote and jagged guitar line. After a brief delay caused by power issues, the band arrived looking every bit the DIY outfit they've become known for. Clari Freeman-Taylor's bleached-blonde, '90s indie aesthetic contrasted with the battered instruments on display, complete with tape covering a guitar pickup and another holding a strap in place. Bassist and violist Saya Barbaglia, sporting a London Underground map T-shirt, looked equally unconcerned with polish, reinforcing the band's charmingly makeshift appeal. Opening with Blood, Mary In The Junkyard quickly settled into the blend of tension and tenderness that has become their calling card. Before Myrtle, Freeman-Taylor explained the song's surreal origins: a dream featuring a half-frog, half-woman called Myrtle who visits each member of the band in turn. It was exactly the sort of wonderfully odd storytelling that makes the trio so distinctive. The constant instrument swapping kept the set visually engaging. Barbaglia traded bass for viola on New Muscles, while Freeman-Taylor picked up the bass herself, the pair punctuating the song with playful mock boxing and exaggerated kicks that drew laughs from the crowd. Between songs, the band's whimsical chatter continued, including an abandoned plan to swim at Dovestone Reservoir before deciding the water looked too murky despite Manchester's sweltering heat.

A metallic blue guitar appeared midway through the set for a song featuring the unmistakable "We're Going on a Bear Hunt"-inspired refrain, "can't go around it, can't go over it, can't go under it – have to go through it", before the band launched into the wonderfully sinister Seek and Destroy, elevated by Barbaglia's haunting, almost demonic backing vocals. The intimacy peaked when Freeman-Taylor disappeared into the audience, performing part of a later song seated – or perhaps lying – on the shop floor, hidden by the crowd that eagerly gathered around her. Closing with the delicate, violin-led Mouse, Mary In The Junkyard proved that even in the fluorescent surroundings of a record shop, they can create a world entirely of their own.