The Marías


The Marías are an indie pop band from Los Angeles, California. The lead singer is María, who is Puerto Rican. She formed the group with Los Angeles native, Josh Conway. They are known for performing songs in both English and Spanish, as well as infusing their music with elements like jazz percussion, guitar riffs, smoke-velvet vocals and horn solos. In their live show, with María on lead vocals and Josh on drums, they are joined by Jesse Perlman on guitar and Edward James on keyboards.

History

The band is named after its lead singer María who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She and her partner Josh Conway, the drummer, met at a show at the Kibitz Room, which is described as a low-key nook in West Hollywood next to Canter's Deli. She was performing on the bill and he was managing the sound, something he had never done before. They began writing almost immediately after meeting, and subsequently began dating. Soon they recruited close friends to join as band members; Edward James on keyboards, guitarist Jesse Perlman, and bassist Carter Lee. They were offered an opportunity to make songs for television, which helped them understand the visual and sonic feel that they were striving for but when it didn't materialize, they used their recordings to make an EP, entitled Superclean Vol. I. Vol. I was released in 2017, while its counterpart Vol. II was released in 2018.

Influences

María has stated that her influences include the late Tejano singer Selena, Norah Jones, Sade, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Carla Morrison, Julieta Venegas, Erykah Badu, and filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, while Conway is influenced by Tame Impala, Radiohead, D'Angelo, and The Strokes.
María stated how Conway was not familiar with her Spanish roots, but the band was open to experimenting with new styles, ultimately leading to several Spanish-language tracks across their releases.

Discography

Albums:
Song NameLength
I Don't Know You3:29
Basta Ya2:57
I Like It3:23
Only In My Dreams2:51
Superclean2:36
Dếjate Llevar2:44

Superclean Vol. II: Released September 28, 2018.
Name of SongLength
Ruthless4:07
Cariño4:19
ABQ5:11
Loverboy1:13
Over The Moon3:03
Clueless3:47

Singles:
Drip: Released November 8, 2018
...baby one more time: Released May 28, 2019
Out for the Night : Released December 11, 2019
Hold It Together: Released March 6, 2020
Jupiter: Released March 19, 2020