Maria BC Announces Third Album 'Marathon', Shares Title Track
Friday, 09 January 2026
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Senny Mau
Maria BC has announced their third studio album.
The Oakland-based artist will release 'Marathon' through Sacred Bones on February 27, following up 2023's 'Spike Field'. Written and recorded throughout the West Coast, the album is described in a press release as "a dynamic exploration of endurance, of pushing forward, resisting, observing and surviving." Introducing it, they said:
"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."
To coincide with the news, the singer-songwriter has shared the record's first single and title track, which blends ethereal vocals with brooding, distorted guitars and draws on their childhood memories of growing up in middle America. Maria BC explained:
"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.
"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."
Maria BC will accompany the album's release with a North American tour supporting Marissa Nadler. Tickets are on sale now.
In 2024, they contributed the song Taper to the soundtrack for Jane Schoenbrun's film I Saw the TV Glow.
'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
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