Maruja is one of the many emerging U.K. artists from the “Windmill” music scene. While the post-punk act formed in 2014, they started gaining popularity with fervid singles in the early 2020s. Their 2023 EP “Knocknarea” and 2024 EP “Connla’s Well” solidified them as a band to look out for.
On Feb. 21, the band released “Tir na nÓg,” the final installment of their EP trilogy. Unlike their other releases, this project is fully improvised. The performance was recorded live on Sept. 19, 2024, and is viewable on YouTube. It’s divided into four movements, titled with the words for one to four in Irish, and takes up 22 minutes.
According to the band’s website, their songs start from improvised sessions, and the members wanted to capture that raw, free-flowing energy. Their website explains the Irish title, which translates to a fabled magical place, reflecting the ascended state the band reaches with their creative spontaneity.
There are no lyrics, so lead singer Harry Wilkinson’s vocals comprise of structureless bellowing. It puts Joe Carroll’s saxophone usage — the cornerstone of Maruja’s sound — on full display, acting as the main “voice” for the album. The loose structure and instrumental emphasis highlight Maruja’s jazz-rock and post-rock elements.
The introductory movement is “Aon,” taking up the first seven minutes of the performance. You can feel the band getting into form as they start off with droning guitar and saxophone passages, easing into their improvised flow. After a few minutes of relative calm, the drums and saxophone intensify as Wilkinson begins yelling in anguish.
Once the track enters the second half, things only get more frenetic, reaching a hurricane-like cacophony. The rapid drumming reverberates like peals of thunder, the vocals lash out like gale-force winds and the saxophone rises above everything, the erratic centerpiece orchestrating it all. When it seems like the tension can’t get any greater, the band slowly starts reeling it in, a satisfying end to the most dramatic moment of the project.
The beginning of “Dó,” the following movement, sees Maruja reprising similar instrumental patterns, but less aggressively. The instruments are isolated instead of vying with each other for the spotlight, establishing a heavy atmosphere. It’s an effective de-escalation, like an apex predator breathing heavily and proudly after a successful hunt.
But Maruja doesn’t stay in this grace period for long. A skyfall of drums smashes through the clarity, bringing in a new phase of spontaneous commotion. It’s more structured than the prior track, but still a dense jazzy onslaught to behold.
At three and a half minutes, “Trí” is the shortest movement of the performance. It’s also the calmest, starting off with descending saxophone tones and spaced-out drums. They fade into an industrial noise drone from a guitar, resembling something Godspeed You! Black Emperor might use to transition between tracks.
The performance concludes with “Ceathair,” another hectic moment. Maruja switches up the instrumental roles, with Carroll playing saxophone to match the drum patterns, establishing a clear rhythm. A guitar solo takes over the more turbulent role, though it hangs quieter in the mix. It’s a textured post-rock experience, again reminiscent of GY!BE, this time of their embellished finales.
As engaging as the guitar solo is, the restrained saxophone takes away some of the band’s flair. Where the moving parts on the rest of the album hit like an ocean storm, instrumental waves slamming into you at different speeds and intensities, “Ceathair” is a wave pool, more contained and expected than what came before. The change in dynamic can be a benefit or detriment depending on the listener.
The EP trails off with a fade, a bit of an anticlimactic end, as you can still hear the members playing at full throttle. Regardless, “Tir na nÓg” is an emphatic release that measures up to Maruja’s prior work.
Now that Maruja has delivered yet another quality EP, fans are increasingly hopeful for an album in the near future. With the final of the three EPs completed, an album is probably next on the band’s to-do list. Considering how consistent and assertive the band’s work has been thus far, there’s no doubt their first full-length album will be worth the wait.
Rating: 4/5