MAYA LUCIA - miss girl world (2022) Hi-Res

In recent months, we’ve shared a couple of singles from New York’s Maya Lucia. First back in June with ‘sleepy baby club‘ and then ‘numb or something‘ earlier this month. Both tracks introduced miss girl world, a brand new EP Lucia describes as concerning “nostalgia and the ways it presents itself.” A sensation capable of comforting and disturbing in equal measure.

‘sleepy baby club’ sets the vibe from the off. A song which embraces Maya Lucia’s trademark balance of emotion and energy to explore “a decidedly pessimistic present without losing hope of something better just over the hill,” as we put in our preview. “All delivered with an infectious pop rock bounce.” With yelling neighbours and thwarted fun, ‘spinelli’ captures the angst and injustice of an energetic kid, though turns its attention to a more present melancholy too. That youthful melodrama which we noted on ‘numb or something’ rearing its head once more.

But despite what the clichés might tell us, young melodrama comes as a veritable rainbow of moods, and like Lucia’s nuanced picture of nostalgia, miss girl world paints with them all. Closer ‘another day another night’ opens with the slow sway of heartbreak but channels its own confident swagger, while ‘pbr’ strips things back to ponder the past more clearly. “Oh I wish I would’ve known / how things were gonna go,” the track muses, but in lieu of clairvoyance Maya Lucia is left with the only thing remaining. The present moment in all of its dragging heat and confusion.