Track Of The Day: Maria BC – ‘The Only Thing’

A gentle musing on relinquishing yourself to the feeling of being in love again and having that feeling reciprocated, Maria BC has shared their latest single ‘The Only Thing’. Taken from their debut album Hyaline, which is set for release on 27th May, the track is a disarming, tender reflection on the serenity that sets in once you are fully “seen” by your partner in a new relationship.

Following on from their dreamy debut EP Devil’s Rain (2021), on Hylaine, Maria BC has created another tender collection of songs that “Let the world wash over you…rather than trying to pin it to one single thing.” This immersive quality is captured beautifully on ‘The Only Thing’, through Maria’s tentative guitar picks, atmospheric beats and soothing vocals.

“The track is about allowing yourself to be seen fully by another person. When you find they aren’t afraid, you realise you shouldn’t be either,” Maria explains about their new single. “It took me a bunch of tries to finish the arrangement for this one. It felt too sparse, while the song is about that full, effervescent, sun-is-coming-up feeling of new love. I spent several weeks adding parts and scrapping them — you know, getting nowhere. Then, at some point, I realised the refrain of another song I was working on had the same chord progression as ‘The Only Thing’ refrain. I turned that into a kind of counter-melody, Liz Fraser style, and I think it tied the whole thing together.”

The new track is accompanied by a beautiful video, shot by Olivia Q. Pintair and choreographed and Performed by C Green. Watch it below.

Follow Maria BC on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Photo Credit: Ulysses Ortega

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Maria BC – ‘Devil’s Rain’

A tender reflection on the cherished summers they spent with their grandparents in northern Ohio, Brooklyn-based artist Maria BC has shared their latest single ‘Devil’s Rain’. Taken from their upcoming EP of the same name, which is set for release on 5th February via Fear of Missing Out Records, the track is a comforting realisation about how joy and melancholy can harmoniously co-exist in your memories.

“When I was little, my grandmother would sit with me on the porch during rainstorms and read me chapter books,” Maria explains. “While we sat on the porch swing one day, the sun came out while the rain kept pouring and she taught me the term ‘devil’s rain’. I think it’s a Southern expression (my grandmother grew up in Kentucky). I love the phrase, how sinister it is and the event itself — sunshine and rain, co-occurring opposites — puts you in a spiritual mood, all wonder and melancholy.”

Maria’s warm memories of being “cradled by a summer day” are reflected in their ambient  guitar sounds and emotive vocals. Despite the dreamy nature of the track, Maria’s peace feels as temporary and interchangeable as the natural phenomenon they’re singing about, accepting that beliefs and emotions are as fleeting, but as awe-inspiring as the tempestuous weather.

Listen to ‘Devil’s Rain’ below.

 

Follow Maria BC on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Maria BC – ‘Adelaide’

An ambient reflection on disconnecting from the world before finding your way back to it again, Brooklyn-based musician Maria BC has shared their debut single ‘Adelaide’. Taken from their upcoming EP Devil’s Rain, which is set for release on 5th February 2021 via Fear of Missing Out Records, the track is a blissful, lo-fi meditation on breaking introverted thought cycles.

“A friend of mine used to work as a museum guard,” Maria explains about the inspiration behind their new single. “Guests would almost never ask her questions, so she had a lot of downtime. She would spend hours building ‘memory palaces’ which are a mnemonic device that have helped some people to achieve total autobiographical recall. My friend would spend six, seven hours a day making these palaces. When she told me about this, another friend of mine said, ‘Aren’t you worried about getting lost in your interiority?’ And I thought, ‘damn, that’s so true’. I’ve seen that happen to so many people. It’s happened to me many times — this feeling that I’m stuck in the architecture of my own ego. ‘Adelaide’ isn’t about my museum guard friend — it’s a song addressed to a depressed version of myself, or someone who needs a hand to pull them back into the social world.”

Maria’s metaphorical hand is extended via soft guitar sounds and hushed vocals on the single. “I don’t want to tell you this,” Maria tentatively remarks before carefully unfolding their thoughts over four minutes of ambient sounds. Recorded in Maria’s apartment through April and May of 2020, ‘Adelaide’ is an intimate, soothing offering and a revealing insight into what’s to come from this talented emerging artist in 2021.

Listen to ‘Adelaide’ below.

Follow Maria BC on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Sergio Gutierrez

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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