The Maravines - Orange

“moody, harmony-laden threnodies, sad or contemplative or sullen songs played at slow tempos. While some of the titles here suggest a nautical theme…a closer examination reveals that for the Maravines, the ocean is more metaphor than vacation spot.” – Jim Testa | NJ.com

“the guitars smolder and yearn but don’t explode, while the vocals are earnestly sad without becoming maudlin. The results are unique: not tense, but not calm; not overly energetic, but not sleepy. It’s unique and beautiful.” – Stephen Carradini | Independent Clauses

The Maravines are an indie folk rock duo from Union City, New Jersey that formed in 2010.  They are recognized for their lo-fi production, sullen harmonies, and reserved instrumental accompaniments, and draw comparison to the music of indie rock bands like the Shins and the Decemberists.  In 2013, they joined Mint 400 Records and released the ten-track album The Maravines, followed by the albums Distlefink (2014) and Sloan (2016) . The band was a staple of the North Jersey scene often playing at curated shows by their label.

The band went on somewhat of a hiatus as songwriter Chris Lee continued to write an album a year, sometimes up to 60 songs in just that short span. It wasn’t until recently after some months on the west coast that Lee returned to New Jersey and reconnected with Mint 400 Records to pull together a new record in 2023 that is almost a ‘best of’ the last half decade. Some tracks include songs the band had kicking around for years and others were pieces of songs that came together through new instrumentation being added.