Maria BC announces third album, Marathon

Marathon follows Maria BC's 2022 debut Hyaline, her 2023 album Spikefield, and new song "Taper" which was featured in Jane Schoenbrun’s 2024 film I Saw the TV Glow. The new record sees Maria BC explore endurance, resistance, and survival. Speaking of Marathon, they say: “For this record I decided to spend less time on production and recording and more time on songwriting. The result, I think, is more thematically consistent, lyrically speaking, and more concise… I set out to make something more dynamic and varied.”

The title track, "Marathon", takes inspiration from Maria BC's childhood memories of living in middle America. "There was a Marathon gas station at the end of the street I lived on as a kid. 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," they explain.

"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."

Tracklist:

Marathon
As the earth turns
Peacemaking
Safety
Rare
Port authority
The sound
Sabotage
June
Night & day
May this rain
Channels
Miami