New Music: Mary Ocher – On The Streets of Hard Labor

Following on from The Dance, Mary Ocher gives us On The Streets of Hard Labor, another uncut gem from her Weimar album.

Keeping in theme with The Dance, it is influenced by Berlin’s Weimar era, cabaret that is pointedly political and full of references to the mix of jazz and blues that informed the subversive and satirical cabaret then and musical theatre now.

And you could imagine On The Streets of Hard Labor appearing on Broadway in a sharp-witted revue, due to its sense of drama and vivid imagery, sparking your imagination like fireworks. And as much as it immerses itself in a specific place and time, it doesn’t feel dated – sadly, as much as the players change, the game often stays the same.

And haunting the song, and the album, is the knowledge of what is to come. Ocher sings of women weeping but with stars in their eyes, a line that is both beautiful and damning.

The song wasn’t specially written for Weimar – it is, in fact, from Mary Ocher’s debut album War Songs, and here it is given new life, so that for its references to the days of Sovietism, it could apply at any time in European history in the last hundred years or more.

Weimar is set for release on Friday the 13th of March and can be pre-ordered in digital and vinyl formats on Bandcamp.

For pre-save options for the album, and an EU tour that includes a special event in Berlin on release day, make your way to Facebook and Instagram. Ocher has written an essay connected to the album’s themes – you can find out more about that here.