Listen: Maruja Preview Debut Album ‘Pain to Power’ with 10-Minute Single “Look Down on Us”

Photo credit: Samuel Edwards

Through a spree of progressively less predictable EPs, Maruja made a name for themselves in the past few years as foreboding disruptors in rock. Now, the London-based experimental quartet will finally concentrate the many sides of their promising perspective into their debut album Pain to Power, due on Sept. 12 via Music For Nations. To unveil their long-awaited first full-length record, the group has shared the fittingly multifaceted lead single “Look Down on Us,” which screams truth to power in an arresting 10-minute outpouring.

“Look Down on Us” runs the range of Maruja’s dynamic sound in a multi-part rallying cry, building and collapsing from furious thrashing to a soul-baring dirge. Against a pummeling backbeat from bassist Matt Buonaccorsi and drummer Jacob Hayes, the band stacks viscerally affecting strings, Joseph Carroll’s unmistakable saxophone wails and razor-sharp takes on hard truths from frontman Harry Wilkinson. They’ve had the track on the road for a good while now, and at their first-ever New York performance on March 22, the scorching, spellbinding protest anthem turned the whole crowd at Market Hotel into a pit. 

“‘Look Down On Us’ is a reflection of the times we live in,” Wilkinson divulged. “The first half of the song paints a grotesque and vivid picture of the super wealthy, and the impact they have on our culture. The second half is about the need to come together in solidarity and embrace love as a wider community, especially in times of oppression. The song ends full circle, arching back to where it began as a reminder to the listener of the struggle from which it came, and the struggle that still remains.”

Pain to Power is available to pre-order now. Watch the music video for “Look Down On Us” below and learn more about Maruja at marujaofficial.co.uk/