Wooden Maria - A Pilgrimage to a Temple to Dream (Self Release) [Psychedelic]
- The Slow Music Movement
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
Information is somewhat thin on the ground, but Wooden Maria are a London-based, genre-ambiguous alt-everything project led by Oliver Muto on vocals and guitar, and well supported by Claire Hewett on violin and vocals, Haimer Atkins on drums and Rowan Arnold on bass. They've been around since 2018, dripping out a steady stream of music, and if their Instagram is anything to go by, have been paying their dues in the capital's local venues as they attempt to assail and heighten the public consciousness, whilst floating on water and marvelling at nature's climatic drama.
I stumbled across them via their "Fairer Winds" single, and it piqued my interest enough to wonder if there was more of the same, and lo and behold, it sits at track four of a very impressive, seriously singular debut album.
It's another tough one to pin down - I do pick 'em, but it's a meandering, refreshingly mystical for today's data-driven music by numbers world, concept album that does a fair job of living up to the enlightenment-seeking album title. It certainly sounds like they might have visited the local shaman before hitting the temple too, as there's a lysergic luminescence to their waking dreams - not full-on see your whole life flash before you, but more an awareness of the interconnectedness of all things - certainly musical genres. And just to prove their higher musical consciousness, they glide between acid folk, astral ambience, cosmic singer-songwriter, psychedelic shoegaze, indie-ghost reviving rites, hippy-trail acoustic rock, genuine rather than faux new age blissfulness, ritualistic mantras and Eastern-gazing ethereal-pop bliss outs; managing to sound like everything all at once, and nothing else at all.
It's hippy but happening, familiar but fresh, freaky but friendly. Swap your active wear for some wider-bottomed leg coverings, pull up a cushion and stay a while; turning on is optional, dropping out recommended.
Playlist Companion
Find Wooden Maria in the Slow Alt-Pop Playlist.