PTRNS Release Blistering New Single ‘Mary Jane’ (Irish Melodic Alt-Rock)
PTRNS have not so quietly been making a name for themselves since the release of their debut single ‘Magnolia’ in August 2024 and more recently, 2025 single ‘At Least For Tonight’. A plethora of hometown shows, including headlining Belfast’s iconic venue The Empire, lead to Our Music Belfast knighting the band as ‘rising ones to watch’ and earned them a reputation as one of Belfast’s most formidable live acts. PTRNS now return with their most focused and realised track to date, ‘Mary Jane’, distilling the previous years’ experience and truly stepping into themselves and their sound as band. The song brings together the band’s vast array of influences pulling from the emo-pop of Paramore to the indie hip sway groove of Two Door Cinema Club to the post-hardcore energy of Movements.
Formed in late 2023, the band initially comprised of Ryan (drums), Paddy (lead guitar) and Tom(bass/backing vocals) but it wasn’t until Leo (rhythm guitar) and Nicole (vocals) joined that the band truly took shape. The name was presented after serendipitous circumstance meant that the practice space was booked out to PTR, once Nicole joined it became PTRN, Leo has since had to adopt a more suitable first name..
The track opens somewhat inconspicuously as we are landed in the middle of a break up call. Instantly setting the scene thematically for the song. This is all before the track kicks in as Ryan’s drums propel the song and heartbreak forward. As the verse hits there are hints of mid-west emo as sparkling melodic guitars join halfway through. The chorus hits like a tsunami, walls of guitars, thunderous kick and snare and a rumbling bass all provide a sonic backdrop for Nicole’s soaring vocals, a warning wrapped in an earworm melody. Tom’s backing vocals add further texture and depth to chorus, and in the second verse the call and response between the two vocals allows the verse to become something new and builds the intensity back up. The song unravels in the final third, the music reflecting the emotional state as a warning turns to despair.
Nicole says: “Mary Jane is a relationship on the brink- where love begins to decay and devotion shifts towards someone new. Watching someone you care about walk into a toxic situation”.
When it came time to record the band returned to Start Together with Michael Bell on production duties. Having worked together on previous singles the band and Michael had already built up a vocabulary and understanding, allowing them to experiment but reach the desired result quickly. Michael’s production fully captures the true sound of the band, melding pop, rock and hardcore elements together seamlessly to give them their signature sound.
The band self-shot and edited a video for the track. The original demo featured a sample from Spider-Man 2 which didn’t make the final cut however wrapped the song in a nostalgic haze for the band. So when it came time to make the video it seemed only right to harken back to watching Spider-Man on VHS and old CRT TV sets. This idea of a CRT then became focal point to both the artwork and the music video, backlit by red light to represent Mary Jane’s lyrical theme of lust.
A powerful entry into the PTRNS catalogue and one that finds the band fully stepping into themselves and in the process finding their signature sound.