The Marías 'Cinema' Review
The Marias are:
Maria Zardoya - Vocals
Josh Conway - Drums/Vocals
Jesse Perlman - Guitars
Edward James - Keys
–
It’s very rare you fall in love with something so familiar yet vastly unique. That can pertain to a person, a type of food you try for the first time, maybe a new shirt or pair of shoes you’re not accustomed to wearing. I’m sure you’re already aware, a band’s debut album holds a lot of weight. How your fans will know your signature style, your availability to deliver longevity, a solid first impression and image all hang in the balance on a collection of 10-12 songs. There are many routes a band can take, whether it be conceptual to fit the niche audiences or commercial for the masses.
In the case of LA-based The Marias, a psychedelic-pop/jazz band with visual thematic nods to early 2000s Spanish films, callbacks to the motherland of Puerto Rico, and everything a modern music fan could want out of an album so diverse yet widely appealing at the same time.
This is Cinema, a 39-minute retelling of loss, loneliness, and love between two people told through the sounds that feel like a love letter to all things aforementioned along with an atmosphere that encompasses the entire record in silky red robe that smells like the cinnamon from a pot of tea your significant other just finished making as you wake up from a night at a remote beach house. Blending genres is no easy feat and for a band like The Marias, they knew that writing something as grand yet detailed as their first full-length LP would be a bold but beautiful showcase of just how much they can do following Superclean Volumes 1 & 2, and a small batch of singles in between.
–
Just a feeling opens with a lush orchestral background sounding reminiscent of an opening of old 1950s films. This sets the tone for the majority of the record’s themes of love at first sight, longing for someone, memories within those moments shared and even the isolation that can follow it.
Calling U Back immediately follows with a dog bark sample and lyrics that are colder than the iced tea in my backpack. The main chorus of this song is where it shines with the lyrics “Imma live in the past, Look at the videos, Imma give you the wheel ,What do you wanna know?”. Looking back on those past moments and not wanting to let them go is something I can relate to very much and the video for the song perfectly visualizes that feeling of chasing what’s in front of you as well.
Hush is simply pop perfection. It’s sultry, seductive and almost sinister synths, sub-basses, snappy snares and slick vocals and guitars (say that five times fast) literally capture the listener in a room devoted to the self-empowered beauty this song emulates. I can honestly say this is the best underrated Pop song of the past 10 years and I don’t see my opinion on it changing anytime soon.
All I Really Want Is You takes you out of that dark room and opens the blinds with its warm keys, soft vocals that sound like actual sunlight, and various engineering practices that create an atmosphere of watching rain hit the window while the sun is trying to peek out above the clouds.
Hable con ella serves as the interlude with the same motif and themes from the opening track that brings the listener through a hallway leading to an intimate Speakeasy in the form of Little by Little. In typical fashion for The Marias, the verses of the song are in Spanish while the chorus (holding the song together) is in English with silky smooth drums, solid groove on bass, keys that sparkle like stars and vocals that sound like the scent of a sweet candle gliding through the air. The first thought upon hearing this song makes me want to get my driver’s license (which I’m working on) and go for a night drive with someone special having the most deep and relaxing conversations one could have.
Heavy lyrically touches upon isolation on those days where you just don’t feel 100% like yourself. Inspired by a picture of a woman in a desert, The first line of the first verse came immediately from Maria looking at it and finding words to depict what she saw. The song beautifully encapsulates the barrage of emotions that isolation can bring sonically as ethereal synths, textures and chords put colors in my head that make me feel like I’m diving into an ocean and being swept up by the current for a bit.
Un Millón is a standout track for many reasons. It represents a declaration of love, represents an homage to Maria’s motherland and even borrows elements of Reggaeton to enchant the listener into a state of freedom (which is what love should feel like). The song is sung entirely in Spanish but when translated, the lyrics detail spending time with your love and how something as simple as dancing with them sets your heart on fire which is absolutely romantic.
Spin Me Around is definitely a callback to the days of 70s psychedelic-rock a la Tame Impala through and through. Continuing to slow the pace on the record, The Mice Inside This Room follows suit in direct inspiration but from Radiohead which makes sense given the production choices to simulate chattering that resembles a state of paranoia as the lyrics depict.
To Say Hello is about leaving the only home you’ve ever known to live somewhere you know you belong. For Maria, it was her Hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. She left to pursue her music career and while it didn’t go exactly as planned, once arriving in LA she met Josh Conway who would later form this band with her and the two would begin dating shortly after. Life is funny sometimes in the way things work out.
Fog as a Bullet is soft and simple just as it’s an honest reminder of how short our time is here on earth. Written coincidentally around the untimely and shocking passing of basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Maria titled the song as to what she saw faintly looking out her window as news of the tragedy spread not only in California but across the world.
Finally,Talk To Her closes out the album in a 5 minute spoken word poem from Maria reciting her experiences of touring and seeing parts of the world she’s never seen before. The band accompanies this with a building jazz piano ballad that bursts like fireworks by the lake reminding the listener “Don't stop giving up”. The lyric serves as a reminder that better is always on the horizon and the ‘mud’ you find yourself in right now, will wash off. Through my interpretation, I think the ‘Her’ that Maria is talking to can be anyone you’ve met. It can also be anyone you have known for years, just met recently, or someone you have yet to meet but will undoubtedly change your life in ways you didn’t even know were possible.
Throughout my recent year-long program for Audio Recording & Engineering, I’ve been blessed by the universe and everything in between to have met amazing professors, learned valuable lessons and encompass all those things surrounded by an amazing group of friends who have also become family in a way. For as long as I can remember, I’d always felt like an anomaly (and still do) amongst most people. It wasn’t until I went back to school to focus on rebuilding my relationship with music, I finally felt free. I found people who spoke my language that I’d always have to translate to everyone else. I even found people who showed me parts of myself and colors within my soul I never knew existed.
To those people (and The Marias), If you’re reading this, thank you from the depths of my heart for changing my life for the better. For showing me what it’s like to love life and the people and experiences we share it with. You give life purpose as much as this beautiful record does and I will carry that with me infinitely.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
The Marias on Spotify/Tidal/Apple Music
Twitter
Instagram
