Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Cheryl Waters, host of The Midday Show on KEXP, is "Pastel Concrete" by MAITA, from the 2022 album I Just Want To Be Wild For You on Kill Rock Stars.
MAITA is the full-band project of Portland-based artist Maria Maita-Keppeler. Quickly following up the release of her fantastic debut album Best Wishes, unveiled only just last year, this February her sophomore record I Want To Be Wild For You will be revealed.
Our Song of the Day is the early single “Pastel Concrete.” What appears to be an intimate, possibly somber guitar strummer in the opening lines grows into a jaunty tune that grows and eventually cathartically erupts. Known for her mercurial lyricism, Maita-Keppeler turns the task of driving through Santa Monica for work as a study of the unique culture and landscape of Southern California.
“Pastel Concrete was written at a time when I had a job that periodically sent me to Santa Monica, Maita-Keppeler says of the song. “A place that felt more foreign to me than any other. The outdoor mall, the kitschy boardwalk, the actors and artists I worked with who seemed so different from me and yet so understood the struggle of trying to get paid, and the infamous mythology of LA—I found it all uncomfortable and fascinating.”
I Want To Be Wild For You is out February 18, 2022 via Kill Rock Stars. Watch the video for “Pastel Concrete,” directed, animated, and edited by and starring Maria Maita-Keppeler, below.
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