Molly O’Leary makes a breathtaking debut on their album Marigold. The Worcester, MA-based artist delivers suckerpunch after suckerpunch on the spare album, produced by fellow songsmith Will Hoge. Marigold takes us on a journey through O’Leary’s healing process and is based appreciated in an environment where it can listened to all the way through — especially because the first half is tight and claustrophobic as O’Leary conveys the depths of their anxiety and depression.
“Ticking Of a Clock” in particular encapsulates the grinding anxiety of felling like you must be doing something “productive” with your time, or what use are you? “Haunted House” starkly lays bare the scarring experiences O’Leary continues to reckon with, replete with cold guitar accents that emphasize the echoing walls of the mental structure the narrator is trapped in.
Amid religious trauma, sexual trauma, bullying, and shame, O’Leary fights to assert their humanity. They do not do so with righteous fury, but a gentle persistence that is more likely to overturn boulders than not. “J Walker” expressly pushes back against homo- and transphobia, but it’s not the fiery protest song you might expect.
Marigold is a difficult ride, to be sure, and it’s not until well into the album’s back half that we begin to find reprieve. “A Room With a View” shifts gears to an unexpectedly groovy track, providing the listener with some much-needed oxygen. As O’Leary sets us down amid a nest of gorgeous love songs, they remind us that sometimes all you need when things go sideways is to keep pushing. On Marigold, Molly O’Leary shows us that perseverance doesn’t have to be an endless slog of heroism, but is more often than not about taking the time to be gentle with yourself and the people around you.
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