By Macie Rasmussen

“I want to surf/I want to surf/I just want to surf,” Alli KB belts on Mary Jam’s new single, “Waterparks.” The Twin Cities garage rock band, consisting of vocalist/guitarist KB, drummer Katy Fenasci, and bassist Sofie M, call the track their “wettest song yet.” That description is 100 percent correct – not only in the lyrics including “I want to ride the slide/I’m gonna lose my mind” – but also in the way jangly guitar lines slip underneath the slabs of expansive, percussion-driven noise.

Mary Jam began releasing music in 2022 and has since made a case for DIY punk music without the need for catastrophizing; their music contains playful wit and sometimes verges on comical. On “Waterparks,” KB’s gritty vocals project the words “Shitting my pants” and “In the hot sun/Toasting my buns,” to communicate a desperate desire for recreational fun. The surf rock band’s need for surfing is non-negotiable. With a chorus of rigid, yelling lines, the end product arrives as something that feels deeply present tense and urgent. When personal and societal obstacles place pressure on all angles of life, goofin’ around with pals may be the best way to cope with uncertainty. 

Mary Jam has upcoming performances at Mortimers on Friday, June 23; White Squirrel on Saturday, July 8; Eagles 34 on Friday, July 14; Enchanted Muse on Saturday, July 15; and Caydence Coffee on Saturday, August 12.