Ok, so you’re born in Russia, raised in Israel, you become sensitive to all that is burdening this world and want to express it through music. Where do you go to do that? Berlin, of course!
And that is only a partial description of Mary Ocher. Through her five albums so far, and particularly her newest one, “The West Against The People”, Mary has not shied away from any problem she sees, but neither from being experimental in the way she approaches her music. You want experimental? You don’t have to go any further than having the Krautrock legend as Hans Joachim Irmler of Faust as your producer and cooperators such as Felix Kubin and Julia Kent of Anthony and The Johnsons. And two drummers in the band. Actually, three if you count Mary herself.
The thing is though that Mary has packaged what some might consider a heavy message (you want heavy? Try Mary’s essay on world politics available through her site, [Mary Ocher - Official website - Essay](http://www.maryocher.com/essay.html)), through what you can call experimental music, that is actually featherlight on the ear. You don’t have to sweat or suffer and be able to listen to this music - you get its complexity and that of its message, but you’re not going to consider it unlistenable at any moment.
In the aspect of musical ideas, it is no wonder that Irmler is producing this album, like any or all of Faust’s albums, “The West Against The People”, burst with disparate ideas that gel together - folk, garage, industrial, ambient, shoegaze, and rhythms from all over. It’s all here and it all fits together like a glove.
What it also does is serve as a great vehicle for the message Ocher wants to put across. Try “The Endlessness (Son For Young Xenophobes)” for size. Now, you may like or dislike what Mary has to say, but she has an undeniable ability to send her message through music.
The reason this album works is that Ocher is an undeniable musical talent that cares about the things she is talking about through her music. Worth your time. And effort.
