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Photo: Bethany Vargas

A much-anticipated arrival, The Marías’ Submarine is finally here and is more dizzying and electrifying than we could have ever prepared for. An open wound that cannot heal until acknowledged, this album interrogates every cold case you’ve abandoned, gifting you with the hope that a new perspective could have been the remedy all along.

Opening with “Ride,” a verbose declaration of arrival, it’s clear The Marías are leaning more into alternative, not relying on the safety of their naturally captivating allure. Innate sonic shapeshifters, the project is uncategorizable and wistfully everything, from dancehall to pop. This opening declaration is followed by “Hamptons,” a vibrant display of instrumental chaos. It demands movement and full surrender to lead vocalist María Zardoya’s seduction, as the lines “I’m a little bit in love” hypnotize you into place.

Drummer and producer Josh Conway, guitarist Jesse Perlman, and keyboardist Edward James play incredibly significant roles this go round as well, with Submarine serving as their second studio album and an emphatic display of musical maturation. Curating an atmospheric sound with rich synths and jazzy crescendos, there’s a massive up-leveling as a band, both in songwriting and production.

The project is mostly in English, a deliberate choice to honor the blue, raw, and deep moodiness of Submarine. While we typically know The Marías to be passionately red, this record was birthed through grief, as bandmembers Zardoya and Conway processed their breakup. Viscerally honest, sitting at the center of discomfort, and biting through the pain, it is the truth of this album and Zardoya’s bravery in speaking it that will uphold it as one of their best works to date.

Submarine sinks you into depths light could never penetrate, Zardoya serving as a siren guide. Abruptly ending with “Sienna,” both a letting go and a holding on, this project is an invitation to lean into the pain of an ending and alchemize it into the bloom of something new.  

Listen to Submarine below: