B i o g r a p h y (by Mike Duquette)
Britain's mary in the junkyard are a quietly powerful indie rock trio with a D.I.Y. ethos. They took their homeland press by storm in 2023 with their debut single, “Tuesday,” which was heavy on jangly, churning guitar and eerie vocals that could swing from fragile to ferocious in an instant. Their well-honed live presence gave way to a well-received EP, 2024’s this old house, and the band continued to raise their profile on a tour with Wet Leg before releasing their debut album, Role Model Hermit, in 2026. Before mary in the junkyard formed, two of its members -- singer/guitarist Clara Freeman-Taylor and drummer David Addison -- played in an alternative outfit called Second Thoughts. Forming shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world into lockdown, the pair found themselves feeling constrained making music at home and cultivating a fan base over the Internet. When the opportunity arose, the pair struck out on their own, recruiting bassist/violist Saya Barbaglia, who’d befriended Freeman-Taylor during a tenure in a youth orchestra. Self-described as “angry weepy chaos rock,” mary in the junkyard quickly gained notice in England for well-honed club sets of alternative songs with unique dynamics and Freeman-Taylor's haunted vocal delivery. In 2023, the trio released their first single, “Tuesday”; in 2024, the track “ghost” teased their first EP, the four-song this old house. They were featured on Everything Is Recorded's single "Swamp Dream #3" in early 2025, then released their own singles "drains" and "midori," with the latter arriving in September around the time they began a North American tour in support of Wet Leg. The group were back early the next year with new material such as the brittle, slow-grooving single "Crash Landing," and mary in the junkyard also co-headlined dates with Dove Ellis in the lead-up to the release of their full-length debut, Role Model Hermit. Produced by Oli Bayston (Olivia Dean, Anna of the North), it appeared on AMF Records in July 2026.
Role Model Hermit
Mantra III It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it, ah It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, no one else's, ah It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it, ah It is yours, babe, you desеrve it It is yours, babe, you desеrve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it It is yours, babe, you deserve it Blood Spot of blood On the floor I won't let you down If you let me in You can forget about All the pain babe And there is nothing to see here Except sweetness And I've got nothing to hide In your mattress And I see you walking towards me Yeah, you know what I'm talking about And later when you undress me I know that you know that I feel it I've been thinking about you all day Yeah, it's all that I can think about They say that love makes you naked And I need you to cover me up Spot of new love I believe in us I won't let you down If you let me in There's no shred of doubt In my brain, babe And thеre is nothing to see here Excеpt sweetness And I've got nothing to hide In your mattress There is nothing to see here Except sweetness And I've got nothing to hide In your mattress When I see you walking towards me Yeah, you know what I'm talking about And later when you undress me Yeah I know that you know that I feel it I've been thinking about you all day Yeah, It's all I can think about They say that love makes you naked And I need you to cover me up Seek And Destroy So how do you, how do you do it right Is there a right way, or am I just getting tired Are you, are you on my side Do you pick a side, or am I just getting sidelined Do I have a can of worms inside That I'm afraid to touch, I feel it bursting open All the boys are at the bar tonight But I can't cope when things get left unspoken I always take too long to think But maybe that's a good thing I can take a while to warm And sometimes stay freezing I don't have the body or the mind to stay out tonight I'm already halfway home I think I fantasise and fantasise about All that could go wrong I'm holding my body like it is a baby It's all I can do not to cry This world is too much for me, I'm just a baby It's all I can do to stay alive Alive, alive (Seek and destroy) It's all I can do to stay alive (Seek and dеstroy) Alive, alive (Seek and destroy) It's all I can do to stay alivе (Seek and destroy) So how do you, how do you do it right Is there a right way, or am I just getting tired And are you, are you on my side Do you pick a side, or am I just going crazy I always take too long to think, but maybe that's a good And I just take a while to warm and sometimes stay freezing I don't have the body or the mind to stay out tonight I'm already halfway home Think I fantasise and fantasise about All that could go wrong I'm holding my body like it is a baby It's all I can do not to cry This world is too much for me, I'm just a baby It's all I can do to stay alive Alive, alive (Seek and destroy) It's all I can do to stay alive (Seek and destroy) Alive, alive (Seek and destroy) It's all I can do to stay alive (Seek and destroy) New Muscles I've been looking for somebody to fight There's no one on the streets at night Just looking for somebody to hold I just need to get it on Well, I was in the corner of the room Like I was stuck to the wall I've spent so long in my cocoon And now I'm fully formed I embrace the thunder and the lightning I will make it so hard to forget me I'm a creature of only instinct I could take you down with one finger I've been getting up and getting out Working up and getting down I've got new muscles all over my back New muscles all over my back Getting up and getting out Working hard and working on myself New muscles all over my back New muscles all over my back I sometimes feel like taking off Past the buildings in the sky And maybe I could take you with me Feel so light, I could fly Maybe I could row us in a boat With these new muscles that I own I think that I could take these waves Courage in my bones, yeah I embrace the thunder and the lightning I will make it so hard to forget me I am a creature of only instinct I will take you down with one finger I've been getting up and getting out Working up and getting down New muscles all over my back New muscles all over my back Getting up and getting out Working hard and working on myself New muscles all over my back New muscles all over my back New muscles New muscles New muscles all over my back New muscles, I've got a six pack New muscles all over my back New muscles all over my back Getting up and getting out Working up and getting down New muscles all over my back New muscles all over my back Myrtle How does it feel when you walk away Knowing that everybody's watching You look so pretty when you spit like that Do you know what everybody's saying Myrtle told me that there isn't a body That she hasn't learned from Myrtle told me that I don't need to worry She will get to me when the time comes How does it feel Working so hard in the back of the car for me You make it real I knew that this would happen eventually I didn't feel So alone with you holding my head, yeah Let's make a deal I love you baby, you're always enough for me Myrtle told me that there isn't a body That she hasn't learned from Myrtle told me that I don’t need to worry She will get to me when the time comes Ooh, I am waiting on your driveway Ooh, for you to come and collect me I feel silly When I remember everything you said to me I feel better Every time you look in my direction Myrtle told me that there isn't a body That she hasn't learned from Myrtle told me that I don't need to worry She will get to me when the time comes Peter The Dog I don't understand my tears I've been doing so well And the big black dog ate all of my fear And I was starting to smoke I lay killing time I lay killing time I lay and just killing time With the dog He knows me so well And I've been feeding pieces of myself Into his large and open mouth And he is always hungry He is sleeping next to me Please please don't wake him up I only just got him to bed And I'm made of strong stuff But I've always got this pain in my head I lay killing time I lay killing time I lay and just killing time With the dog He knows me so well He knows me so well Crash Landing Crash landing You came in like you were done pretending Comet face With all of these holes I couldn't help but fall into You opened up like a coconut You opened up like a coconut Crash landing You came in like you were done Done, done, done, done Comet face With all of these holes I can't help but fall down Down, down, down, down, down You opened up You opened up like a coconut You opened up You openеd up like a coconut And I can take your mask off But only in the dark And you won't takе your shoes off In case you have to run, run, run Yeah, I can take your mask off But only in the dark And you won't take your shoes off In case you have to run, run Today, today, today, today Or any other day Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow In case, in case, in case, in case, in case Nothing's gonna happen And I want to go outside But I'm scared you'll melt away if we leave this place If it was any other day If it was any other day I'd get the fuck away Crash landing You came in like it was all my fault Crash landing I never want to see you again Welcome Break Hours drifting down the highway Your eyes are glazing over There's a heat in every motion We're going in the right direction Who are you, why'd you tell me What are you trying to say That night something quiet moved me And I know that I am better off this way I saw two eyes in the bushes They were lit up by the light of the service station In a woods by the side of the highway A stillness that was so unexpected I am talking to myself Learning to rely on no one else And it scares me when you sleep like you are dead With all the miles of road beneath your head Hey, hey Hey Hey, hey I didn't think that you could hear me I say a prayer in every city I felt a well of light inside me All of the heavy dust has lifted I saw God in the bushes He was lit up by the light of the service station In a woods by the side of the highway A stillness that was so alone Candelabra Thought of you whilst staring at the candelabra Almost felt your fingers in my hair One of your eyes is green but the other is darker Let me hold you still so I can stare Don't let me into your life, baby I hurt you enough as it is Don't let me under your skin, baby I'm full of false promises I want you to know me through my songs They're so much cleaner than anything I could say And I don't mind if we sit in silence As long as you're near me Frantically, I wrote you a letter One I knew I never would send Write fast, write deep, write better Nothing I ever write will be enough Don't let me into your life, baby I hurt you enough as it is Don't let me under your skin, baby I'm full of false promises I want you to know me through my songs They're so much cleaner than anything I could say And I don't mind if we sit in silence As long as you're near me Thou Shalt Sprout You laid out a banquet Of fruit you had stolen We laughed as we ate it And we didn't care I had been so hungry I was satiated But the men from the market They knocked on my door They said if you came back Back to the market They'd grab you and catch you And cut off your hands That night you had bad dreams That you couldn't play the piano With no hands to play it with Taken by those men The next day I was hungry About to have our baby You said for our daughter You'd go back there I told you to stay away Away from the market Instead, go to the field And get food there But the farmer, he saw you And he took out his shovel And buried you in the dirt Buried you down there I went to that spot And I saw it sprouting With plants that could feed me Fruit they would bear Your heart was a beetroot And your head was a lemon tree Your arms were an olive branch Your hair became corn You fed me forever Our daughter grew big and strong I told her the story Of her father's care Mouse I know that I've changed I do not look the same Now, seeing you now How do I explain Can you see the waves If you concentrate Mouse, you were a mouse I have no doubt You open your mouth And an unfamiliar voice comes out Mouse, my sweet little mouse Do you remember me now Mouse, you were a tiny bow We had it all, we could have it all Stars, more than I could count We could look at them now You open your mouth And an unfamiliar voice comes out Proud, it makes me so proud You remember me now Mouse, I’m so sorry we drowned The sea swallowed us And then spat us out Mouse, at least I've found you now My beautiful mouse
Non AlbumS Tracks
Bear walk In the fir tree days, I was on your back I had no shoes back then, you picked up the slack And spirit guides were pulling me limb from limb I said a prayer for you, so you wanted to stay We would eat the birds We caught that evening In the wild days And in the nighttime, we sat by the fireside Nothing to think of, but I want to survive And spirit guides were kept on the inside They carved their symbols into my eyes They told me you were leaving In my dreaming I thought that I had timе But then you left that day with a big suitcase Just likе a city boy who made a disgusted face And the spirit guides were all going silent I hoped the dark would stay under your fingernails I hope that there are trees outside your window I hope you'll come back some day
Cuckoo! (Benjamin Britten cover / Live at Next Door Sessions) Cuckoo, cuckoo... What do you do In April, I open my bill In May, I sing night and day In June, I change my tune In July, how far I fly In August, away I I must... What do you do What do you do In April, I open my bill In May, I sing night and day In June, I change my tune In July, how far I fly In August, away I I must... What do you do What do you do In April, I open my bill In May, I sing night and day In June, I change my tune In July, how far I fly In August, away I must...
Drains I've been looking all over for you In all of the drains of the city I've been looking for words to describe you I don't even know what you are to me You're a bright light, a white noise, a long corridor A red moth in my room flying at my head A wise woman at the bar crying, quiet A gentle riot But I only came here to feel my body I am a ghost, where are my bones? How can you blame me for not being sorry My birthday card got lost in the post And it's a bright light A white noise, a long corridor A red moth in my room flying at my head A wise woman at the bar crying, quiet A gentle riot But if you bury yourself, I will dig you out again That's what lovеrs do If you hurt yourself, I will take you under my wing I'm your lovеr and I'm loving you If you bury yourself, I will dig you out again That's what lovers do If you hurt yourself, I will take you under my wing I'm your lover and I'm loving you I'm your lover and I'm Tryna stay well fed but it's exhausting When nothing I do is from feeling I feel like this every weekend But I'll get over it, I'll get over it I'm tryna stay well fed but I've been slipping down the drain And I'm talking to you now but I don't feel sane I feel like this every day But I'll get over it, I'll...
Ghost (This Old House EP) Pretty people smoking in the kitchen I open my face to the night For your rainy day tales, I am itching Tell them by candle light And you howl It's all you can do I've been howling at you But you see right through it You pass right through So when did passion go out of fashion Sing till you know who you are And I kissed your face and I'm blushing I love you for who you are And you howl It's all you can do I've been howling at you But you see right through it You pass right through So talk to me, I'm scared of change, babe But hey, you're a prophet in disguise And I'm so glad that I came here 'Cause gone are my old ways Gone are the old days Gone are my old ways And you howl It's all you can do I've been howling at you But you see right through it You pass right through I take my shoes off and I run to you I want to dance in your living room I've been howling at you
Goop (This Old House EP) Flies trapped in the goop of your eyes Pull them out of there quickly before they die Start to cry of feeling down Pull them out of there quickly before they drown You've been stuck inside for so long You've forgotten how the sun feels Where did things go so wrong Nothing really feels real Baby, you were born in disguise You were wearing a mask when you first opened your eyes You have to stop trying to be nice Your crying is something you can't intellectualize You've been stuck inside for so long You've forgotten how the sun feels Where did things go so wrong Nothing really feels real And the hours blend Into one more day And there are flies in your eyes They take forever to die And the hours blend Into one more day There are flies in your eyes They take forever to die City cats can't fight You wade through the Thames at night Look up by the skyline The lights are your lifeline City cats can't fight You wait till high tide You do things you don't like Get into cat fights She scratches her head She might have nits I think I'll stay away I don't need any bugs Getting stuck in my eyes tonight
Jane Sitting in silence She is beside herself And I know this when I look into her eyes But my mouth is full of stalactites Dreaming of better days Let's go to the bar Tension is broken Everywhere is open It's a busy city with no one to come and get me And the noises in the next room Are another world, but I'm not done Digging in the dirt You speak in such an urgent way Soft and safe You're more of a woman than me I only start to talk when I'm angry You control my face And see that I've never changed Only one of us has changed I'm looking at you, Jane I'm done, I'm dressed And I'm holding the drinks and the blood Between my legs It's hard to be a woman Is it harder to be here It's hard to be someone When everything is new And you sometimes don't speak at all That's okay I'm just a boy most days And I'm only tryna talk 'cos I'm in love You can see it on my face I've never changed Only one of us has changed I'm looking at you, Jane
Marble Arch (This Old House EP) I remember staring at your hands And your silver rings Those precious moments I wish I notice things Shouted here last spring When fear was nibbling So I held my next of kin It's cold in the city's light I miss the cold of the city's light And it's been three months since we last spoke Because you never pick up the phone I scream at the deadness of the dialling tone And I cry and I decided that it's best if I leave you alone Will your mother wash your mouth out With the soap that she made for you And my head is on the ground now But my feet, they don't know what to do Will your mother wash your mouth out With the soap that she made for you But I missed you When you went away You got eaten up by the city and the dust And the smoke and the rain And I know that you're trying to stay afloat In the little boat that you made Don't feel ashamed, I do the same Don't push me away And it's been three months since we last spoke Because you never pick up the phone I scream at the deadness of the dialling tone And I cry and I decided that it's best if I leave you alone Will your mother wash your mouth out With the soap that she made for you And my head is on the ground now But my feet, they don't know what to do Will your mother wash your mouth out With the soap that she made for you But I remember lying in When your flooring groaned by the open door You were kind and I was small To me, you stood so tall Now you're passing me a smoke And as I look into your eyes I think about how brave you are and strange you are You're making your way in the big city You're reading a lot and you're trying to save humanity And there are people who will treat you shitty But you'll never stop spinning Oh with you, I'll never be alone Will your mother wash your mouth out With the soap that she made for you Will your mother wash your mouth out With the soap that she made for you Will your mother wash your mouth out With the soap that she made for you
Midori Though I am concrete-bound I am fragrant I get old and get out I am fake and dead Could you help it With no god to bow down to And no soil to grow down in Could you help it But I've got a couple of coins left And I'm going to spend them on you I've been travelling left with this ache in my chest and A pain in my view Could you help it With no god to bow down to And no soil to grow down in Could you help it But this dreamt-up drunk little dove needs some green space And you're all that she's thinking of in her quiet way It's a hot barrel of honey in a catacomb And you're all that she's thinking of in her bedroom It's hard to get hurt by you, babe Your words are always so true And there's no way around it, no way Thеre's no way to come out of it unscathed It's hard to gеt hurt by you, babe Your words are always so true And there's no way around it, no way There's no way to come out of it unscathed
Swamp Dream #3 (Everything Is Recorded feat. Mary In The Junkyard / Richard Russell Is Temporary LP) You are from an old land Crafted out of wet sand What is it all about Staring down at your hands In your own head In your old old head Into the dirt Into the dirt Into the dirt Into the dirt Mystery of my own flesh I'll never stop wondering Never stop Turning inside out I'll never stop spinning Turning inside out Gone When I'm gone Into the dirt Into the dirt Into the dirt Into the dirt Into the dirt Into the dirt Into the dirt Into the dirt
This is my California Skin tight Oh won't you see the light And follow up into the night My dream Comes from the pale light of a bright blue screen It was old, it was cold From the song that was sung And my heart made a noise Like an oil drum But everybody's holding me down And it calls again Something lifting you out Of the place that you're in Is a pain, it's about Angels It's a craving not a crime Could you fall for it For the ways of the world It was all that I got From the falling of a dead angel It's a curse and it's a shame This is my California I know it doesn't look like much This is my way to warn you That it will never be enough If you go to California We will not stay in touch I've never been to California And I will keep it as such But everybody's holding you down And it's gone again Something lifting me out Of the place that I'm in Is it tame, let it out Cages
Teeth (This Old House EP) You sink your teeth in to get straight to my heart Back with the wild things and covered in bite marks And all of the mountains have seen you before Follow your feet then looking for more But I run while you're sleeping Take off down the street But I'm back when you're teething I'm the one you need You're in there speaking while I'm outside And they let you in, but I never knew why Staring at the ceiling, feeling strangely fine Your face when you're sleeping has never looked right But hey, I left you today 'Cause I heard you, couldn't take the pain You will always haunt me, you're a beauty Do you feel the same Bow down to the core of the earth into the flames You sink your teeth in, so we're never apart And you hold on so that nothing will ever be enough This place just smells of your sweat and I don't think I'm ready yet So write your name on my chest and let sleeping dogs die But I run while you're sleeping Take off down the street But I'm back when you're teething I am what you always need I'm all that you need 'Cause I'm what you need I'm what you need This old house with you Curled up in the corner And I'm out, always out Trying not to fall off the face of the earth again Not again, never again So get out of my home Where the sleeping dogs die And so do I
Tuesday (Ghost EP) Widen my horizons, please There's so much I don't know about this land Talk to myself to no reply Open my eyes, please I feel like an alien here Breathing from a separate hole Close my eyes and see myself High above the city I haven't got used to it yet The cosmos curled up in bed An object of desire, the city burns She looks at me, my head turns On the tip of my tongue, a thousand words And I read them aloud to her I haven't got used to it yet Life on Earth as I know it See us set ourselves on fire, the city burns She looks at me, my head turns On the tip of my tongue, a thousand words And I read them aloud to her I made something of myself I was meant for something else I made something of myself I was meant for somewhere else I feel like an alien here Breathing from a separate hole Close my eyes and see myself High above the city I'm always waiting for it Something borrowed, something blue But I am that something blue When I am kept away from you And he said get out of my way And that destroyed the Tuesday I'm always waiting for it When I'm getting close to you and I'm always waiting for it Something borrowed, something blue But I am that something blue When I am getting close mm-mm He said get out of my way And that destroyed the Tuesday I'm always waiting for it When I'm getting close to you and I'm always waiting for it Something borrowed, something blue But I am that something blue When I am kept away from you He said get out of my way And that destroyed the Tuesday I'm always waiting for it When I'm getting close to you and I'm always wait