Maria BC has announced a new album, Marathon, which is set for release on February 27 via Sacred Bones. The follow-up to 2023’s Spike Field is led by the title track, which introduces a sludgier dynamic to Maria BC’s hauntingly spare songwriting. Check out F. Saber Sutphin’s video for it below.
“There was a Marathon gas station at the end of the street I lived on as a kid,” Maria BC said in a statement. “Its big, glowing sign was a landmark for me – when I could see it from the window of my mom’s car, I knew we were about to be home. Its iconic ‘M’ – on the rare occasion I encounter one these days -still brings up that old feeling, the familiarity of homecoming, and a twinge of nostalgia. There’s something perverse about this, I think. The oil company’s branding is, or at least was, exceptionally patriotic, what with its red, white and blue color scheme and idealized Midwestern imagery, all dusty roads, cowboys and wild horses that harken the brand’s slogan, ‘Fueling the American Spirit.’ I once heard someone refer to advertising as ‘satanic poetry’—I have to agree. That this logo, even with all the evil it connotes, can invoke nostalgia—can be a beacon—is very sinister to me.”
“For this record I decided to spend less time on production and recording and more time on songwriting,” Maria BC explained. “The result, I think, is more thematically consistent, lyrically speaking, and more concise… I set out to make something more dynamic and varied.”
In 2024, the Oakland-based musician contributed to the I Saw the TV Glow soundtrack. Revisit our Artist Spotlight interview with Maria BC.
Marathon Cover Artwork:
Marathon Tracklist:
1. Marathon
2. As the earth turns
3. Peacemaking
4. Safety
5. Rare
6. Port authority
7. The sound
8. Sabotage
9. June
10. Night & day
11. May this rain
12. Channels
13. Miami
