The debut EP from Marley Guevara, known by her artist alias Maz, comes just in time for the warmer weather. The production on NPC was spearheaded by Bobbing and Coleman Williams, who work with major indie artists like Still Woozy.
The EP is full of classic-sounding wobbly guitars and old-school synthesizers, topped by Guevara’s heavily reverbed vocals. The team delivers solid looping grooves but adds beautiful shimmery elements like guitar swells and synth arpeggiators to entertain the listener. Sonically, the album has everything from the dragging-along “Wa Oh” to the Chappell Roan spoken verse esc “Kiss Kiss Boom.”
Guevara leans into these bright arrangements with singable melodies and simple lyrics. It sounds like she’s riffing over the instrumental loop below her, singing words with vowels that feel good. However, the words she’s singing feel unrelated to one another. One of the more confusing songs is “Conundrums,” which starts with the lyrics “I don’t care too much about interest / I just want to pay my taxes / I wish my words had more meaning / But I’m not politically informed,” to the non-grammatical chorus “Drop my conundrums,” to a post-chorus reading “In the night / Dream like a child / To be you again / To see you shine.” Guevara falls into the trendy lyrical trap of recounting very specific moments from her life, but instead of painting a cohesive emotional picture, they leave the listener confused. As strange as her lyrical choices may seem, the choruses remain catchy and memorable, a sign of potential growth in her future projects.
Overall, this is a solid debut from Maz, and as she matures into her artistic identity and hones her craft alongside her talented collaborators, she will be making the timeless indie pop she is heading toward.
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