mary in the junkyard

mary in the junkyard — Clari-Freeman Taylor (vocals, guitar, cello, viola, violin), Saya Barbaglia (Bass, viola, violin, backing vocals), and David Addison (drums) —  release the new single/video, “New Muscles,” from their debut album, Role Model Hermit, out July 3 via AMF Records.

Following the hushed “Candelabra” and the winding ballad “Crash Landing,” “New Muscles” reveals a lighter side of the band, while still retaining their sense of melodic invention. The track is structured around a playful melody and rolling percussion courtesy of Addison. “New Muscles” has been in rotation in the band’s live set and became a fan favorite when they supported Wet Leg on their 2025 US tour. mary in the junkyard comment, "’New Muscles’ was originally composed on the accordion, we wrote it about David joining a gym."

The video was shot in South-East London and devised by the band, with both Barbaglia and Freeman-Taylor learning Muay Thai for the shoot. Freeman-Taylor and Barbaglia say, "The fight in the video is real and we trained for it for a combined year (Saya 1 year, Clari 1 month).”  Every extra and member of the crew is also a part of the band’s wider creative circle, illustrating the band’s tight connection to their DIY roots.

Role Model Hermit is a collection of dark fables, intricate melodies and moments of revelation. mary in the junkyard wrote the album between the UK and US and recorded it in London during the summer of 2025 with producer Oli Bayston (Boxed In). Throughout its runtime, the album walks the line between fact and fiction with a real sense of bite and moments of poignancy, while always creeping into the phantasmagoric.

Role Model Hermit showcases a band with full belief in their abilities. As The Face predicted, “mary in the junkyard’s breakout moment beckons.” From extensive tours of the UK and Europe, to a three-month North American run supporting Wet Leg, where they road tested the new songs, plus a recent KEXP session, mary in the junkyard have been carefully building up to this.