Mary Strand: “Golden Girl” (2023) CD Review

Mary Strand started as a lawyer who wanted to be a writer, became a fiction writer who then apparently wanted to become a rock star, and now is on her way to becoming that too. Golden Girl is her debut album, yet feels like the work of an experienced rocker. It contains all original material, written or co-written by Mary Strand. She provides the lead vocals and plays electric guitar on these tracks. Joining her are Ryan Smith on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, sitar, ukulele, mandolin, piano, keyboard, percussion, and backing vocals; Mark Wade on bass, gong, electric guitar, and backing vocals; and Jack Strand on drums.

The album opens with “Alexa Please,” which has a solid rock beat. Check out these lines, which open the song: “A minor judgment lapse/Won’t make the world collapse/But a degree in psychology/Is not the same as an apology.” Those are some fairly wonderful lyrics, right? Not bad for the first lines of a debut release. Clearly Mary Strand can do whatever she sets her mind to (which, honestly, is a bit irritating to those of us who are still trying to get our first novel published). The chorus is then addressed to Alexa (that creepy device that responds to vocal commands and is always listening): “Alexa, please add ‘boyfriend’ to my shopping list/I don’t remember when I got my last decent kiss/Make sure he’s honest, cute, and smart/And if he’s sweet, he’ll win my heart.” So obviously there is a good deal of humor to this song. That’s followed by “Different Kind Of World,” which also features a solid rock beat. In this song, she looks at another relationship that isn’t exactly what she wanted. But could it be? “We can’t do this, but why not?/It’s not as if we ever forgot/In a different kind of world.” These songs take me back to my twenties. “Golden Girl,” the album’s title track, is a song about a woman who glows and seems like the woman of a man’s dreams. Here Mary Strand addresses that man, telling him “Long legs, tight jeans, shadows in her eyes/Take a closer look: it’s all a disguise/Golden Girl.”

“I Don’t Want To Be Your Yesterday” was co-written by Sarah Morris, who joins Mary Strand on vocals (Sarah Morris recently released her fifth full-length album, Here’s To You, in which she again proved herself an excellent songwriter). This one has a softer approach, and features some beautiful vocal work. “I used to have this light inside, this fire, this spark/You had it too/Wherever it ran off to, I guess it doesn’t matter.” Those lines are so wonderfully sad, but while this song looks backward, it also states strongly about the present, “I’m not that woman anymore; I’m a bit older than before/Now I bring all my love with the truth.” And so there is a positive sense to it. This is a great song. That’s followed by “Kiss Me At Midnight,” which is also more gentle than the album’s first few tracks. It’s a love song, with something of a dreamlike quality, which works well with the time the song takes place. “Your moves are seductive, but somehow sweet/The magic keeps spinning on endless repeat/Kiss me at midnight and all night long/But will you disappear before the break of dawn?”

Mary Strand then gets back into rock territory with “The Me I Need To Be.” This one also deals with a relationship, but also with the self, as she sings in the chorus: “The me I need to be/Is buried so deep inside/If I set myself free/At least know that I tried.” These lines also stand out for me: “I don’t cry too many tears/But these have been hard years/I have so much to say and do/And it needs to start with you.” This track also features some good work on electric guitar. Then “Quarter To 10” is a sort of love song with a good rock energy. It’s about a relationship that has its fits and starts, as time passes. “We both walked away, but it’s sort of a blur/The years did their thing, and you lost who you were/Where did you go?” It is a song of what could have been. And could it be now?

“Acabé” is sung in Spanish. Check out these lines: “No creía que pudieras encorvarte tan bajo/Tan bajo, tan bajo/Sin comer tierra.” Pretty harsh, I love it!  There is a bit of punk energy to this song at times, which I appreciate. That’s followed by “Stay For Breakfast,” which also looks at a relationship, an attempt to see if they can make it work, the chorus being: “Stay for breakfast just this one time/Don’t tell me we’re an uphill climb/Stay for breakfast, it’s just one night/Let’s see if we can get this right.” There is a rather sweet aspect to her vocal delivery on this song. This track also features some nice work on keys, including that interesting ending. The album then concludes with “Act As If,” a song that has something of a 1960s pop vibe, even including hand claps. “Act as if you don’t want to be set free/Tell me that it’s not just one more line/Hold me like you’ll never, ever leave me/Act as if you’re mine.”

CD Track List

1. Alexa Please
2. Different Kind Of World
3. Golden Girl
4. I Don’t Want To Be Your Yesterday
5. Kiss Me At Midnight
6. The Me I Need To Be
7. Quarter To 10
8. Acabé
9. Stay For Breakfast
10. Act As If

Golden Girl was released on June 23, 2023.