The Mary Dream In UBL Finals
Nashville Indie Duo The Mary Dream In Ultimate Band Finals
The Mary Dream, from Nashville, have made it through to the Final Ten in the UBL Ultimate Band contest. We take a closer look at the duo's melancholic beauty.
- Genre: Indie / alternative / pop
- Sounds like: The Sundays, Travis, Rubyhorse
- Home: Nashville
- The Mary Dream
It's The Music That Counts
In a genre as diverse as indie, it's often hard to make your music stand out. There are a variety of ways that both bands and PR companies try to stand out from the crowd - whether it's a gimmick, a clever advertising campaign or taking a chance on a million dollar video on a relatively unknown act, the methods and their success can be varied.
However, despite efforts such as these (or perhaps because of them), at the end of the day, it's still the music that counts. Strong songs and memorable music will always be the deciding factor, at least in the ears of the listening fans. One such band that has the songs to stand out is The Mary Dream, from Nashville.
Fate And Fortune
Borne from a chance meeting through a newspaper classified ad, vocalist Elise Bellew and guitarist Blake Ryan make music that transports you to a place at once serene and magical. From their self-released debut album Beautiful World (which will be reviewed shortly on Suite101), songs such as the beautiful Liar, with its easy melody embedding itself in your psyche, or title track Beautiful World, with its plaintitive emotion shining through in the delicate vocals of Bellew and the hook-laden arrangements of Ryan, are testament to the style of The Mary Dream. Mixing the best of intimate indie bands such as Travis, The Cardigans and Sixpence None The Richer, the sound of The Mary Dream is a rich tapestry of warmth, shelter and belonging, woven together by the perfect pairing of Bellew and Ryan.
UBL And Beyond
Proof that The Mary Dream is beginning to make people stand up and take notice comes with the news that the band has made it through to the final ten in the UBL Ultimate Band 2007 competition. From an initial list of 120 bands (that figure itself having been whittled down from an entry list of thousands), the remaining finalists comprise of bands from all genres, from blues to hip-hop, jazz to pop and more.
The prize on offer for the winning band is a worthy reward indeed: with sponsors including Entertainment Weekly and Focus Three Entertainment, and the chance to join and be promoted by the label that includes the likes of Papa Roach on its roster, the incentive for all bands is potentially massive.
With their songs beginning to be featured on shows such as All My Children, and MTV's The Real World, it would appear that The Mary Dream are poised to start making proper headway into the music arena. With the follow-up to Beautiful World due for release later this year, should they go on and win the coveted UBL award for 2007, the path may be just that little bit less tricky.
