Maria BC – Marathon
Oakland artist Maria BC announces their third album “Marathon”, out February 27th via Sacred Bones, and shares the title track. The follow-up to 2023’s “Spike Field” and 2022 debut “Hyaline” sees them spending less time on production and more on songwriting. “The result, I think, is more thematically consistent, lyrically speaking, and more concise,” she say. “I set out to make something more dynamic and varied.”
“Marathon” introduces a grungier, noisier backing to Maria BC’s vocals, marking a shift from their typically sparse approach. The song draws from childhood memories of living in middle America, specifically a Marathon gas station at the end of their street. The glowing “M” sign meant they were almost home when spotted from their mom’s car window.
There’s a melancholy awareness that you can’t truly return to the past, no matter how much the familiar landmarks pull at you.
But there’s conflict in that nostalgia. Maria BC points out the perversity of feeling warmth toward oil company branding, especially Marathon’s exceptionally patriotic imagery: red, white and blue colour scheme, dusty roads, cowboys, wild horses, all supporting the slogan “Fueling the American Spirit”. They reference someone calling advertising “satanic poetry” and agree. That the logo can invoke nostalgia despite everything it represents feels sinister.
The album follows Maria BC’s contribution to Jane Schoenbrun’s 2024 film “I Saw the TV Glow” with the song “Taper”. “Marathon” explores themes of endurance, resistance, and survival across 13 tracks. F. Saber Sutphin directed the video for the title track.
Maria BC joins labelmate Marissa Nadler for a February-March tour across North America.
Tracklist:
- Marathon
- As the Earth Turns
- Peacemaking
- Safety
- Rare
- Port Authority
- The Sound
- Sabotage
- June
- Night & Day
- May This Rain
- Channels
- Miami
North America Tour:
- Feb. 12 – Asheville, NC @ AyurPrana Listening Room
- Feb. 13 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
- Feb. 14 – Washington, D.C. @ Songbyrd
- Feb. 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
- Feb. 17 – Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s
- Feb. 18 – NYC @ Le Poisson Rouge
- Feb. 19 – Providence, RI @ Alchemy
- Feb. 20 – Boston, MA @ Arts at the Armory
- Feb. 21 – Portland, ME @ Space Gallery
- Feb. 22 – Burlington, VT @ Foam
- Feb. 24 – Montreal, QC @ Casa del Popolo
- Feb. 26 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Garage
- Feb. 28 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
- March 1 – Columbus, OH @ Natalie’s Grandview
