On their third album, Maria BC has managed to blend a sense of fragility with a hard, almost uncompromising certainty. Their songs are both fragile and assertive. It’s not exactly a balance of forces, though—it’s not quite that. It’s something that arises from the need to look at the world, whether in a micro way, focused on oneself, or in a macro way, shifted toward an idea of machine control—not so much tied to science fiction, but more to a certain post-industrial concept, revitalized for today. Listening to Marathon brings Bruce Springsteen to mind. Nebraska, of course, but not only that.
There’s nothing new here. On the previous album, Spike Field, also released on Sacred Bones in 2023, there were hints of this potential.
The surprise of Marathon is how it fills so many gaps, how Maria BC manages to link intimacy to a general pain, how they manage to turn a noisy gray into every color—and make them all matter—and how this oscillates between folk, soft rock, and 90s American indie, without championing any one of them.
Marathon is understated in the way it mourns the present, in how it despairs for the future. It is not a cry for help, because it does not lament its existence; it is a test of the state of things today. And, as such, it is not afraid of one day being put to the test of time. It is likely to survive.
Maria BC brings these songs to Lisbon—songs that would serve well as a soundtrack for 2026, at a time when, we speculate, people will begin to celebrate this album as one of the best of the year. Marathon encompasses the whole world of today—our uncertainties, our dissatisfactions, and also everything that is missing.
AS

Tomé Capa’s creative practice spans various artistic disciplines: installation, design, set design, performance, illustration and drawing, editing and writing, photography, video and music.
A recurring feature of his artistic work – whether in public spaces, galleries, on stage or online, and in different formats – is interactivity with the audience. He believes that interactive artistic interventions are powerful catalysts for happiness. And by ‘happiness’, he means connection, reflection, change, provocation, integration and the freedom to form and share opinions.
In music, which is also influenced by the other artistic disciplines, the interactive element – the relationship with the audience – is equally present. People are central to musical creation. Not only in terms of creative inspiration, but also in compositional strategy. He wants his music to reach everyone – through the lyrics and the melodies. Simplicity is a constant feature of his compositions, and the melodies are clear and easy to follow. Melodies that stick in your head. Easy to memorise and hum along to, thus encouraging participation and connection, whether at a concert or in another setting, amongst friends and strangers alike.