Spike Field delicately holds Oakland artist Maria BC’s deep psyche to a candle, coaxing a wordless realm. Cradled within nostalgic, lullaby-like melodies and poetics, and haunted by a charmingly out-of-tune Steinway, the folk soundscape shimmers distinctly through fragments of shattered glass and mirrors reflecting past selves.
Released by New York’s Sacred Bones Records, the album is deceptively “pretty.” What appears to be a series of gorgeous, flowery vignettes is actually sharp to the touch. Maria BC sifts through this landscape fearlessly with that candlelight, carefully unearthing each thorn, giving once-feared shadows their outline and a name. In a creative attempt to engage in dialogue with the entirety of their being, along with the good bits and hard-to-love bits, the project bids for reconnection, regrowth, and enlightened understanding. Be prepared to be held, devastated, and held again.
