Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

They might be a new name on the Liverpool band board but don’t let that fool you, for in their own dramatic fashion, Jo Mary already have a groove and perseverance that many who have been going for years would find hard to equal.

It is in the measure of both Stillhet’s prowess to find such emerging talent and place them head first into the depths of creativity via their enormously enjoyable Strings and Things evenings and in Jo Mary themselves that the unexpected ease in which they ploughed through a selection of covers but done with impossible sounding inventiveness, and a taste of what is hopefully to come in the future with a track of their own making, the dynamic and vibrant Glass Eyed and Shameless.

The summer is also one in which the slow disintegration of the soul can become apparent, the overwhelming feature of the abundance of festivals that spring over the horizon like an overworked pool side cleaner moaning about the lack of fresh towels in the cupboard and the inevitable summer holiday for some means that a gig in which to make a mark might somehow be taken out of context if the mood doesn’t get captured upon first hearing.

Being a man short is nerve racking, hard enough in a theatrical setting but in the close confines of a band in a sweet sounding setting; that is enough to make lesser souls sweat and curse their luck. However, in keeping with the style and generous swagger that lives in both Sam Warren and Sid Barnfather, the gig was given that extra momentum and bounce as The Coral’s Ian Skelly stepped into lend support on drums and keep the electricity being supplied flowing. It is the very nature of musicians in Merseyside that such things, that such support, happens and as the band eased into their set, including a rather excellent reading of Neil Young’s On The Beach, the beat between seasoned master and creative youth was bridged and made substantial.

For Jo Mary, Time is there to be held, it is not going anywhere fast and as they progress, surely that deafening beautiful quality can only become one that is captured by more audiences.  

Ian D. Hall