Mary Shelley

“We live in Brooklyn. You go to parties and there are pretentious assholes. Sometimes you’re the pretentious asshole.”

After a year and a half of packing venues (Berlin, Piano’s, Lola’s, etc.) across lower Manhattan with bouncing, beer-swigging fans, NYC goof groove punk trio Mary Shelley released their debut track “Bourgeois de Ville” on September 3rd. Followed by their next two singles "Brother" and "The Nursing Home Jig."

As a band, Mary Shelley explores a spectrum of scenes and experiences, diving deep into vastly different concepts with attention-grabbing, energy-packed tracks. “Bourgeois de Ville” explores through exaggeration the universally relatable sense of insecurity and ugly one upmanship that arises in social situations, using clever lyrics and the integration of appropriately nonsensical French to illustrate the comically outrageous, frequently obnoxious lengths to which some people will go in their quest for admiration, adoration and acceptance. 

“I’m a faux intellectual, pretend bisexual, Timothée Chalamet twin, incestual…”

The lyrics tumbled from the brain of Mary Shelley frontman Jackson Dockery as he was on the way to rehearsal thinking about a party he’d recently attended, conversations with a few insufferable individuals and, worst of all, the moments when he found himself going along with the game.

“I think the song’s about the type of person I hate - the type of person I find myself turning into a lot at a party. Laughing at jokes I don’t think are funny, agreeing with beliefs I don’t agree with, wanting to be the center of attention; it’s this kind of fabricated way of talking and behaving that doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a means to an end to come off a certain way. To be seen as you want to be seen. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on a rooftop in Bushwick at like 3am talking to someone whose name I don’t know, and I’m just hovering above myself, listening to myself, and am just going “what are you doing?”

Mary Shelley started as an authentic 70’s punk revival but has quickly progressed to incorporate elements of dance/disco beats, shoegaze, and hip-hop, while under the guise of that classic messy three-piece punk sound. Originally a two piece with college buddies Jackson Dockery (guitar + vocals) and Charlie Hull (Drums), after meeting Sam Pinson (bass + vocals) the group turned trio and quickly began gigging at any venue that would have them. Cut short after only a few months of playing when the pandemic hit, they filled their time in the rehearsal room, writing new material and developing their sound. 

Mary Shelley is a highly collaborative group that isn’t afraid to push genre aside in the name of following their creative impulse. Don’t be surprised when their next song sounds nothing like their last.

After repeatedly telling drummer and reptile enthusiast, Charlie Hull, “No, we’re not going to call ourselves Knife Fight,” The group started scouring their bookshelves for inspiration of a good band name. Of course: “Mary Shelley!” Her most notable work, Frankenstein, tells the story of a man who creates a monster that is increasingly humanized throughout the story, while the man, fueled by a base quest for revenge, slowly becomes the actual monster. 

“Mary Shelley” means to look deeper into what you see. To not miss the human being inside the monster.

They sound like The Clash went to a Devo dance party and Jack White threw up all over the dancefloor. 

Follow Mary Shelley on Instagram at @maryshelleyband. For questions and inquiries, please email maryshelley.mgmt@gmail.com.