Album Review: Olive Jones – For Mary

The lasting influence of Dusty in Memphis and the ‘in Memphis’ albums by other artists that followed in its wake can be heard on For Mary.

Dusty Springfield’s album is praised not just for the confluence of genres on the album but also for being one of the first albums where a female musician was the auteur as well as the artist.

For Mary sees Olive Jones in a very similar role; not only that, Springfield and Jones share similar foundational icons in the album. Jones has spoken about listening to her parents’ Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Miles Davis collections, and the first three no doubt have a role in the formation of her vocal style, which is blessed with a comforting intimacy and is able to draw out strong emotions with just the merest inflection or change in tone.

She has described a debut album as “a tapestry of yourself,” and whether its use is incidental, that also evokes a comparison with Carole King’s sophomore LP. King had a long career writing pop hits before asserting herself as an artist, and the songs on For Mary also echo with that feeling that you are listening to a skilled songwriter. Tori Amos has spoken about Tapestry possessing songs that make you “want to walk into them,” and I felt the same when listening to Jones’ debut.

As a result, Jones places a lot of weight on her shoulders here but carries that admirably. The lyrics range from the timely – Brexit, for example, on Kingdom – but also timeless subject matter, like relationships. End of Time is a love song, pure and without pretence, which gives the track an even greater emotional impact, coming straight from the heart.

Two tracks, Mary and Mary Come Home, speak of loss and mental health and how the two impact not just the individual concerned but also those around them. Most affecting of all is a simple phrase in the final song, Blossom Tides. Over gorgeous strings, Jones repeats the refrain ‘wrap your arms around the ones you love,’ and that could easily be the album’s overreaching theme.

What is most striking about For Mary is just how wonderful Jones’ voice truly is. A neo-soul is present throughout, but it’s how she seems to inhabit the skin of artists as diverse as Springfield and Simone, blues to folk to soul, placing her in a long tradition of singers for whom music becomes something greater in her hands.

In years to come, little girls will no doubt be sitting in their parents’ home, listening to For Mary, and finding a role model for themselves as women and potentially as artists. It’s rare to hear an album that you just feel in your bones is going to become a classic, as well as the starting point for an illustrious career. This album is all that and much more.

For Mary was released on the 13th of March via Nettwerk. It can be downloaded on Bandcamp and can be found in vinyl and CD formats right here. April sees the artist embark on a tour comprising dates in the UK, Germany, and France; check out Olive Jones on TikTok or Instagram for details.

Header photo by Sophie Jovenaar