The Margaret Hooligans’ debut album, “BoomBox Blasts” is a compilation of songs written both before and during the early part of the pandemic during the lockdowns of 2020. Julien James Vachon, of DirectActu called their first single, Going to a Yo Yo Ma, “A clean production full of charm, against a background of darkness of the soul.”

Meg Cratty

The Margaret Hooligans’ debut album, “BoomBox Blasts” is a compilation of songs written both before and during the early part of the pandemic during the lockdowns of 2020. Julien James Vachon, of DirectActu called their first single, Going to a Yo Yo Ma, “A clean production full of charm, against a background of darkness of the soul.”

Meg Cratty (electric ukuleles/lead vocals) and Mr. Strontium (drums/percussion/teapot/back up vocals) formed the band in August of 2019 as a marriage of convenience since they live together. Having played music separately in different acts, Mr. Strontium was the drummer for 90s grunge/alt rock band Latimer, God Fights Dirty, Sadler, and Persona and Meg was part of the ukulele/cello duet The Dirty Hillers, it was a natural fit to see if they could adapt their separate styles to create something new.

Of the album, Meg Cratty says, “We approached that scary situation (the lockdowns) with as much levity and absurdity as we felt necessary, believing humor to be our most viable coping mechanism. Because anger and fear was definitely an undercurrent, there is a tension between making fun of the situation and aggressively trying to draw the monster out from beneath the bed. These last few years have been a lot to process, and I think our work is touching on the frustration that has been building.”

“BoomBox Blasts” was recorded in the basement of Piety Street Publishing, mixed and mastered by Jon Huxtable of Smallfish Recordings, and was produced by Mr. Strontium.

All music by The Margaret Hooligans. All rights reserved.