Mary Strand: "I Don't Need Your Permission" (2025) CD Review

The world seems to have gone sideways, and it's not just the creeps on the right wing (the ones we've come to expect to talk rubbish), but folks on the left as well. People have lost their sense of humor, their sense of compassion, and whatever it was that we used to refer to as "common sense." In short, people have gone cuckoo. I find myself turning more and more to music for compassion and honesty, as well as for fun. Remember fun? That's not to claim or opine that folks shouldn't have something to say, of course. Certainly Mary Strand does on her new album, I Don't Need Your Permission. That title itself should clue us in that she has a perspective, that she has a message, and that she's not going to be shy about expressing it. She also delivers it with not only power and honesty, but also often with a sense of fun. And that's what rock music is still about, isn't it? This album does rock, mixing in both punk and pop elements. I Don't Need Your Permission follows her 2023 debut Golden Girl. It contains all original material, written or co-written by Mary Strand. Mary is joined by Ryan Smith on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, E-bow, sitar, Mellotron, piano, synths, bass, percussion and backing vocals; Mark Wade on bass, upright bass, electric guitar and backing vocals; and Jack Strand on drums.

The album opens with "Take Your Time" a great rock number with something of a power pop vibe, particularly to the chorus. "Take your time, boy, but understand/That I don't need just any man/I couldn't be better, I'm feeling great/I finally lost all your dead weight/But take your time, take your time, take your time." What's interesting is that while, yes, there is a delicious attitude to her delivery, there is also a sort of kindness, and a joy, and that sets this song apart, elevates it. That aside, this song also features some great stuff on guitar. That's followed by "Yours Until Tomorrow," a song that directly addresses a man who is a musician: "A guy like you might be a tease/Or an epic shooting star/You're up on stage past midnight/Singing love songs for me." It's interesting how those lines put Mary Strand in the audience. "I've kissed a few boys, made a lot of mistakes/And I've learned how to tell the good ones from fakes/But there's something about you, so I'll take a chance/'Cause sometimes a girl wants to get up and dance." Immediately following those lines, the guitar seems to get up with her and dance, a wonderful moment.

"Costa Rica" is a fun number that describes a certain trip that goes a bit wrong. This one was co-written by Ryan Smith, who joins her on lead vocals for a duet. "Dirt roads, flat tires, getting lost for hours/And why does our bathroom have cold showers/Now, don't make some big commotion/Let's take a quiet walk down to the ocean." This track has a funny and sudden ending. Then "Ditch Your Fate" was co-written by Mark Wade, and he joins her on lead vocals as well as guitar. As it begins, the feel of the guitar work reminds me of some of the rock music I grew up with, the songs played at those first dances I went to in junior high, so perhaps I am, in some way, predisposed to love it. But the message of this song is so appealing, particularly as time is racing by these days: "Ride the wave, make some noise, risk your heart/Climb a mountain, make a brand new start/Explore the globe, ditch your fate/Find the you you want to be before it's too late."  Yes, it's a seize-the-day type song, and she even uses that phrase at one point: "Seize the day before it's past." This song is also about the current political and social morass this country finds itself in. And, again, there is a friendly aspect to her delivery that makes me feel somewhat optimistic. "Don't preach gratitude, but change your attitude."

"A Place To Roam" has a different feel, establishing a cool rhythm. I could do without that "Ooh ooh" backing vocal bit, for it reminds me too much of idiots at a club, but it's a good song. "I came here to write a novel/But I'll settle for this song." That's followed by "Stay Or Let This Go," one of my favorite tracks. "The years have not been kind/And I've nearly lost my mind/Should we stay or let this go/I can't fake the status quo." It's a song of a lengthy marriage that seems to have reached a critical point, and it is a fun number delivered with a good dose of humor. It also features some really nice work on bass. "The world keeps spinning/And we're not winning/But I give up the fight/And turn off the light." Then "Wanna Talk Dirty" announces itself as a fun number at the start, with that great beat, and while its opening lines are playful, they also have something to say: "You don't know that my favorite color is yellow/Or that I love candy corn and Jell-O/I don't even know what car you drive/Let alone what makes you feel alive." These lines also stand out: "I love how you roll your eyes, but rarely speak/Every time I admit what I did this week/There's magic in how you gaze at me/Even when you question my sanity." This is a wonderful rock song, with a kind of appealing innocence, heard in lines like "I kinda sorta maybe wanna talk dirty to you/But it's not the sort of thing I tend to do."

"Least Of All Her" is a powerful number about violence against women, an ongoing and serious problem that the fascists in office will do nothing about. Early on, the lyrics mention that "boys-will-be-boys" attitude, something we've a heard a lot in recent years. Hell, we have at least one rapist on the Supreme Court (isn't it telling that they couldn't find a better candidate for that position, one that wasn't a sexual predator?), and a rapist in the White House. So what kind of message are we sending to young women? Well, I'll tell you. The message is, you don't matter. Mary Strand has a different message for young women, and I love that she doesn't hold back here. "We both know you wanna mess with my head/So maybe I'll think I'm better off dead/But I'd rather send you to jail/And hope your mom can't post bail/You'll cry on cue for the judge/And tell the world about your grudge/But I'll speak the truth in my own way/And pray you're fucked on judgment day."  "For All Of Us (Dear Taylor)" is also a serious number. It opens with these lines: "You were a kid with a dream/And, really, you are still/Maybe you're not everything you seem/But you're still climbing up that hill." There is something positive and encouraging here. It's a song offered with great spirit. "Stay the course, girl, light it on fire/When they go low, keep reaching higher/For all of us/For all of us." There is also some strong work on guitar. Then in the chorus of "If We Could," Mary Strand sings, "If we could travel back/Through time and space/And maybe unravel all the things that went wrong/Before accusations took up half the night/And truth wasn't just some trick of the light/Would you? Could you?"

"I Don't Need Your Permission," the album's title track, takes us back to childhood with its first stanza. And then she tells us, "I'm blasting through this life of mine/A woman on a mission/So don't try to give me advice/'Cause I don't need your permission/I don't need your permission." It is a song that urges you to be who you are, and not worry about labels. It's crazy, but for some reason, rather than moving away from labels, people are embracing them more than ever. Now we have to deal with so-called identity politics. The song has a playful bent that I appreciate. The album concludes with "Does Any Of This Really Matter." This is a song about aging, about all of us. Look, we're all going to face these things. More things unite us than separate us, yet people still want to fight, want to spend their time working to limit the rights of others. It's insane. "Limping through life on failing knees/And trying to avoid the latest disease/Angry words and bitter tears/Too many losses through the years." There are some psychedelic elements to that instrumental section, which I love. "Everything changes/But stays the same," Mary sings here. Indeed. And to the question, no, I don't think any of it really matters. It matters to us as individuals, of course. But it's all over much too soon for it to really have any meaningful impact. Life is short. And this is it, friends. There is likely nothing afterward. So enjoy yourselves and don't be assholes.

CD Track List

1. Take Your Time
2. Yours Until Tomorrow
3. Costa Rica
4. Ditch Your Fate
5. A Place To Roam
6. Stay Or Let This Go
7. Wanna Talk Dirty
8. Least Of All Her
9. For All Of Us (Dear Taylor)
10. If We Could
11. I Don't Need Your Permission
12. Does Any Of This Really Matter

I Don't Need Your Permission was released on August 1, 2025.