MAARA - Ultra Villain

After a downtempo debut steeped in nocturnal tones, “Ultra Villain”, released on NAFF, the label run by Ex-Terrestrial and Priori, shifts the axis just slightly. The opening track promises a jolt of inspiration: “Glimmers Of Hope” picks up where Bowery Electric left off and reworks it with contemporary tech ingredients: noirish and velvety, sensual and otherworldly. Subwoofer-driven passages flirting with a claustrophobic trip hop alternate with less absorbing moments, in a sequence that mixes variety and filler with mixed results.

Bit by bit the rhythm takes off: “NV-0” hints at flashes of trance-like luminosity, filtered through progressive house rhythms and a suspended leftfield pop vocal. The artist often adopts a sensual, almost slurred vocal delivery, in keeping with obsessive, intimate lyrics: like a breathless sigh amid low frequencies and muffled textures, finding its strength in moments of transcendence, where synths and rhythm section lock together with precision.

“Obsessive Compulsion” pushes further still, built around constructions that evoke racing, circular thoughts and an almost suffocating rhythmic tension. The fourteen tracks span nearly sixty-two minutes, moving from claustrophobia to layered rhythms, from hazy guitars to airier constructions. Maara's voice runs through the whole record like a connecting thread, at times almost confessional, balanced between obsession and abandon. At its best, as on “Dangerous Games” or the title track, the sound drifts between the club and the living room with convincing ease. A few cuts here and there would have made it all the more incisive.

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30/03/2026