MARIUK - Blue Days

For Mariuca Garcia-Lomas and Ignacio Simón, the time has come to confront the illusion of color, and that is what happened across their two solo albums. Ignacio Simón has crossed the line, abandoning shades of grey for a decidedly noir, dark, leaden tone, organic matter of the poetic and suspended enchantment of "Old Friends".

Blue is instead the predominant colour of Mariuca Garcia-Lomas's album. “Blue Days” is a record of discernment and logic, a creative-musical journey that also reflects the artist's commitment to engaging with the singer-songwriter world, starting with the abandonment of electronics in favour of the bare, vibrant sound of the guitar.

The temporary parting of ways between the two musicians – though, to be fair, Ignacio Simón did handle the mastering of the project – unleashed an overwhelming flow of lyrical, poetic energy. The album is the result of a journey begun on the first of January 2020: Mariuca grew familiar with the guitar, learning to play the instrument by trusting her own sensibility as a songwriter and setting aside her usual perfectionism in favour of a bare, approximate sound with real impact.

Mariuk's (her solo stage name) captivating diary is made up of twelve songs, just as there are twelve months in the year; the sonic framework is a subtle shoegaze/dream-pop sound, a continuous loop of bare electric guitar chords shaped and moulded by Mariuca's voice.

At times the guitar's reverb submerges the vocals (“Sad”), the melodic thread nearly vanishes (“Now I Understand”), and the atmosphere even turns heavy and harsh (“Hunger”). “Blue Days” makes its own bare nature the seed of a visceral, fearless stylistic independence.

The impetuous harmonic verve of the twelve tracks flirts with the austere allure of Hope Sandoval (“Void”), the vast spaces of Lana Del Rey's musical/cinematic imagination (“Son”), and the muffled, dreamy minimal melodies of Cocteau Twins (“Leaves And Alcohol”). These are stylistic affinities that are less aesthetic than intellectual, traces and sediments of an introspective music that is nonetheless rich in a tension and empathetic nature that capture the soul.

It's hard to remain unmoved in the face of the intensity of tracks like “The Frog”, “The World Is Yours” or “Blue”, little harmonic and lyrical gems that have little in common with the self-referential world of indie-folk singer-songwriting. And it is in this essentiality and depth of writing that the charm and power of an album like “Blue Days” reside.