Indie rock royalty Hayley Mary, enigmatic frontwoman of The Jezabels embarks on her first national tour in support of her debut album, Roman XS with her live backing band The Hurricanes.
Roman XS will be released independently on Friday October 25 and was produced by Hayley and The Jezabels producer Lachlan Mitchell, with co-production from Johnny Took (DMA’S) and Lewis Stephenson (The Belligerents, Moses Gunn Collective, Big Wett). It traverses the territory of iconic 80s divas such as Annie Lennox and Kate Bush with moments of The Killers, The Cure, and Arctic Monkeys and the gritty dance beats of The Chemical Brothers or New Order. Roman XS features singles The Lonely One, One Last Drag, The Ballad of Ruby Wednesday, Primordial Afterglow and Eighteen and showcases Hayley’s capacity for writing cathartic pop songs with lyrics as deep as the ancient ruins.
“The only thing more excessive than an album that took three years to make is a wall-of-sound rock ‘n’ roll album, filled with new-classic songwriting that romanticises the diesel-guzzling 80s,” explains Hayley. “As a devil’s advocate in the age of musical minimalism, I just couldn’t help diving into expansive layered guitars, synthesizers and lush harmonies. That is Roman XS.”
Hayley Mary found her footing in the original era of indie-slease with ARIA award winning Sydney band The Jezabels. After a few years of international success and touring, the band went into hiatus, leading Hayley to pursue a solo career of her own making.
Since 2020 she has released three pop rock solo EPs The Piss, The Perfume, The Drip and Fall In Love, including the anthemic single Like A Woman Should, which boomed in popularity through the TV series Maid. These combined her trademark quirky, provocative, romantic lyricism with a more aggressive classic-rock/singer-songwriter style, receiving praise from NME, Pilerats, Life Without Andy, Sydney Morning Herald and Tone Deaf and landing her support tours with DMA’S, Liam Gallagher, Tim Finn and Holy Holy as well as award nominations and festival offers, including the UK’s Great Escape.
