Hail Maria Is Back
Collaboration can be a challenge. Especially when making music. Maybe that’s why some folks choose to go it alone or hire session musicians — they just can’t abandon the top-down approach that so many of us are naturally prone to. At the end of the day, it’s a lot easier to just say, “Do it this way” or “I’ll do it myself.”
Hail Maria, a Memphis rock band founded by Michael Peery, is up for the collaboration challenge, though. And they prove that it really is worthwhile when you create space for a group of stellar musicians to meaningfully contribute to and shape the songwriting process together.
Comprised of a crew of real-deal Memphis musicians, the band has a unique history. They started making music together several years ago but, according to Peery, took a pause for no specific reason. After some time passed, Peery decided it was time to bring the original lineup — George Williford, Ben Bauermeister, and Keith Cooper — back together with all new songs and a clearer commitment to collaboration.
“[I] wanted to take a new approach to writing. I would only write the guitar and vocals, then bring it to them, and have them do whatever they felt. This approach seems to have led to a very organic and interesting sound,” said Peery. “Everyone else in the band are amazingly talented musicians and songwriters so we just let songs unfold by everybody shaping it equally.”
And that equitable approach comes through clearly on their new record, What Kind of World is This? (A fair question, by the way.)
To me, the record is defined by the sharp performances. No question. These folks know how to complement each other and build on their collective energy, while also carving out their own distinct moments within each song. No matter the twists and turns — and there are plenty throughout — they remain firmly in the pocket.
This is most clear during the closing minute of the bent and blissful Zappa-burner “City So Loud” and the opening of the smooth and winding “Trust Me.”
Although the group dynamic is exceptional, I have to call attention to Ben Bauermeister‘s drumming and percussion work. Bauermeister, who is also one of the masterminds behind Optic Sink, really sets the tone for the entire album. Dynamic, exuberant, precise, and restrained when necessary, his playing transcends the rhythm section — it is a comprehensive force.
So, yeah, it turns out that inviting everyone into the songwriting process was a pretty wise thing for Peery to do — maybe a little surprising, too. As Peery noted in an email to me, “There have been numerous songs that ended up in [their] final form as something I could have never imagined if I tried to write other parts. I love that.”
I think others will love it, too. The album drops on June 27 via Digital Hotdogs — check it out.
