MEMORIES, MOTIFS AND MORE ON MARONEY’S SOPHOMORE ALBUM
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Was what Briston Maroney thought leading up to the release of his sophomore album Ultrapure.
Okay, maybe he was also thinking about how he had waited since 14 to put out this album, or if people would think he’d fallen into a “sophomore slump”, but mainly it was “what’s the worst that could happen?”
That’s a brave thought for the person releasing one of the rawest albums of the last decade.
From the title right down to the closing track, Maroney takes you through the most vivid memories of his life — the highest highs and the lowest lows that makeup who he is today. It’s an album full of extraordinary firsts for him, from playing all the instruments of the album by himself (“My first time playing drums or piano in front of anyone else! Horrifying!” he writes in a press release) to talking about deeply personal subject matter for the first time.
“Throughout the record I wanted to open a lot of doors, peek my head in, and reflect for a bit,” he explains. “For the first time I’m addressing both the pains of my childhood, and the love I have for my mother.”
Ultrapure is about moments “that you don’t even realize have started, but feel so deeply when you realize they’ve ended”. Think: bonfires and staying out all day in the summer, the concert that you didn’t think was going to be that good, those people that weren’t in your life for a long time, but were definitely there at the right time. The process of trying to capture what ultrapure moments feel like when they’re designed to fade away meant leaving every songwriting “tactic” Maroney knew behind, and allowing the words to come to him.
“This album was my humble, unqualified, and earnest as hell attempt at sitting in those feelings until they had no choice but to burst out of my head. These songs are about a type of pain I hate and love, but mostly have a deep appreciation for,” he said. “So began a meditative cycle of me practicing getting out of my own way and letting these songs present themselves.”
To match his honest realizations, instruments throughout this album take their most raw, acoustic forms. With every track centered around acoustic guitar, listeners feel almost as though they’re in the room with Maroney as he’s writing the songs. Maroney’s collaborators, two-time GRAMMY-winning producer Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves) and engineer Konrad Snyder (Noah Kahan, Rainbow Kitten Surprise) helped him to make it feel just so.
“Working with Daniel Tashian and Konrad Snyder felt like being guided by two wise and empathetic souls, who also happen to be undeniable goofballs, to do nothing but be myself,” Maroney stated. “They pushed me to trust myself, even to the point of me playing every instrument on this record so that it felt as personal as I wanted it to!”
Ultrapure truly is a sophomore album. Where Sunflower screamed rebellion from the hills, Ultrapure eggs on life-shaking realizations. Staying up all night texting friends no matter where in the world you are, realizing you’ve changed but not knowing how and satiating the human need for affection even if you don’t think you deserve it.
Maroney gave Ultrapure all he had. Maybe Ultrapure took everything it could get. Beyond the subject matter, the words on the pages, Maroney’s sophomore album means so much to so many of his fans because they can see how much he’s grown as a songwriter, and as a person. In the end one thing is clear: Briston Maroney is no longer a kid.
“Making this album was a perfect combination of effortlessness and a struggle,” he stated. “It was very clear from the start it was going to be something I would never forget.”