Maruja - Knocknarea
Manchester based band, Maruja, consist of Harry Wilkinson on vocals and guitar, Joe Carroll on alto sax and vocals, Matt Buonaccorsi on bass and Jacob Hayes on drums. They produce bleak soundscapes and a close-to-home aesthetic - often harsh and cold-shouldered. Their debut project, the Knocknarea EP, sets a standard that, if met on further projects, pretty much implies that we're on the end of the next big thing. Only time will tell, as they say, but greatness is in the air - it's a tangible sensation.
Maruja freshen up the recent influx of up-and-coming bands from the UK. The aforementioned grit that pervades hangs heavy - breathing becomes a chore as it clogs up your nostrils, your eyes burn as they become glued shut. Knocknarea begins and slowly builds through the intro track 'Thunder' - it takes off with no intent to look back, and then lulls into an introspective space; a soothing space. The calm before the storm.
Mainlined straight from the soul, wind instruments hold a sorrowful sound like no other - the ether breathed through a notch in space and time, the feeling is one of yearning. Longing for something more, a something more which may not exist - more than likely a pinch in a fever dream. Adding a sense of serene urgency, the saxophone builds in a waterfallesque manner - the ebb and flow touches on worlds that aren't quite this one. Heaven, and just as easily Hell.
The Knocknarea EP presents harsh environments through short and sweet post-rock numbers - flowers grow through the cracks in concrete; the beauty within the beast. Mud and water mixed - through time they separate and settle. Naturally they come together and just as naturally they come apart.
This piece is taken from the bands website; I think that it sums up the aesthetic and ethos of their music to a tee: 'Maruja is a evocative force that transports listeners to a world of diversity and gritty realism. Improvisation provides the backbone of Maruja's compositions, compelling instrumentation and culturally relevant lyrics speak in tongues; creating a myriad of whispered secrets'.
Superb stuff.
