One Last Drag with Hayley Mary
Hayley Mary is back with her new single ‘One Last Drag’ a gritty pop song that explores the glorification of vices with a keen self-awareness. Hayley Mary continues to impress in her solo career with this new track as she weaves introspective lyrics with that exceptionally unique sound.
Photo credit: Rick Clifford
Pleaser Australia: I love the song and it’s such an interesting concept- the glorification of vices. How did this idea become inspiration for the single?
Hayley Mary: Thank you. I suppose it came from a pretty honest place of being somewhat addicted to a few common vices myself at certain stages of life, cigarettes and alcohol included. I’ve read a bit about addiction and the brainwashing and advertising that makes those two particular drugs so appealing. I wrote the lyrics whilst literally chain-smoking and drinking on the balcony, indulging in some fantasy that the self-destruction of it all was somehow romantic, but simultaneously beating myself up for not being able to stop, and knowing it wouldn't feel romantic in the morning. So it was a little bit of a stream of consciousness description of what has happened to me, and no doubt many others countless times. So you say ‘glorifying’ smoking or vices (and I know the song does a little bit), because that’s what we do, but we also know that it’s really not glorious at all. The two conflicting truths that you exist with if you're addicted to something that’s killing you while promising you youth and eternity through marketing, brainwashing history or whatever. It’s the contradiction of the self-aware addict. To put it another way, it’s not lost on me that irony of the song I wrote to critique smoking also makes some people (myself included) want to party and light up, but I’m glad to say I’ve gotten a grip on some of my vices a bit more since then and I hope the same for everyone else who can relate to the song.
PA: I love that you said the cigarette can be a form of any addiction especially considering TikTok and the addiction to social media, how do you tune out the noise of social media?
HM: I won’t lie, while I have my vices, I am one of the lucky people who is not hooked on social media too badly, for which I am grateful. I think it has a little bit to do with being a bit of a luddite and the fact that I am a self-managed and self-released independent artist, so I don’t have the time to actually ingest social media. I can only use it as a tool or I wouldn’t get anything done. Tiktok in particular seems tailored to break down your attention span and erase any semblance of the story format which is the essence of why social media is kinda valuable IMO. But I kinda have old man opinions on most things haha. I do, however, fall into the trap that being a public musician creates where you get a bit addicted to the release and touring cycle and the need for recognition or approval that goes with it all. I often think I’ll give up music and try something easier, more stable, and healthier, but I keep on coming back for one last drag!
Photo credit: Rick Clifford
PA: I love the music video particularly the visuals on the cliff- how did you come up with this concept?
HM: Thank you. The director (Rick Clifford) and I took a lot of inspiration from paintings for this video. I wanted to give the feeling of gazing off a balcony or some high peak somewhere into the sublime, somewhere on the border between safety and danger. I’ve always loved the painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friederich so we tried to allude to that in the imagery. We also used the cliff scenes in the video for Shout by Tears for Fears as a reference as I love a bit of 80s-style drama. The snake stuff was inspired by Medusa by Caravaggio and the dark bird was just a weird idea I had as an attempt to personify the predatory creepy side of addiction in some way without actually doing drugs in the video haha.
Photo credit: Rick Clifford
PA: Can you describe how the creative process has changed for you in your solo career?
HM: Oh, where to begin…ha! Well, it’s always totally different with a band because (if you’re a democratic band, which The Jezabels are, you can only really write music that all of you like and enjoy playing. So it gives you limitations that are actually quite helpful in creating the ‘sound’ of the band. If you're solo you can theoretically work with anyone in any genre, as long as you like it, so I’ve found it quite difficult discerning a definitive creative direction, and that can make for a pretty varied or fragmented sound depending on how you look at it. I’ve had to learn a lot of new skills (guitar, recording, understanding the other instruments and technology a lot more, which has been a challenge but it’s good for the brain). There is a nice freedom to being solo, but it comes at a price. Everything is your responsibility so it can be harder and you get more decision fatigue and probably a bit more self-doubt, but you can collaborate with more people and also get the bigger part of the satisfaction and do things that others might say no to, so it balances out I suppose. Overall, I think being solo suits my life and personality more, but it’s not for everyone. I also loved the times the band had and still occasionally has when we get together for a tour.
PA: Co-written with your husband Johnny Took, do you find that you’re often writing together?
HM: We actually met when I was living above The Lady Hampshire, a pub in Sydney where DMA’s had a studio. Johnny’s band members didn't turn up one day for a session, so he knocked on my door and asked if had any songs to record. We knew each other a little before, but the impromptu writing session was the start of the friendship that later turned romantic, so writing together is kind of part of the DNA of our relationship. We often give each other feedback on songs we write around the house, but there are also quite a few where we get deep, and they are classified as ‘co-writes’ in the real sense, like ‘One Last Drag’.
