Maz Shares Lead Single 'Kiss Kiss Boom' From New EP

22-year-old Utah-based songwriter Marley Guevara has announced her debut EP as Maz and shared the infectious lead single “Kiss Kiss Boom.” Alternating between a laid-back, talk-sung verse and falsetto hook on the chorus, the track sounds like the Gorillaz meeting Stereolab at the club, bubbling synths and a shuffling trip-hop beat buoying Guevara’s flexible voice. 

Due out April 4th via Winspear (Wishy, Slow Pulp, Barrie), the NPC EP finds the indie pop artist from the small town of Logan playfully picking apart growing up, relationships, and self-empowerment across six charming tracks. Pulling inspiration from Blondie to Santigold to Daft Punk, the collection delivers on the simmering buzz she’s amassed across a brief, but potent, run of singles, including the previously released “Conundrums,” included on the EP. Bobbing and Cole Williams, members of Still Woozy’s production crew, build crisp sonic environments for Guevara to flex and explore across. 

Guevara first adopted the Maz moniker as a child, insisting it was meant to be her middle name. As she dug into indie rock as a teenager, it took on added meaning for its connection to Mazzy Star—with her earliest explorations aiming for their trademark ethereal dreaminess. Now the name has come to signify the development of her own sound and world, something indebted to and nostalgically honoring the past but building a new future. “I grew up on early 2000s alternative music, and NPC reaches for that raw, cool, nostalgic sound,” she says. “These songs turn my day-to-day into something badass—a mix of vulnerability and strength.” 

That temporal back and forth was echoed in the songs’ construction. Guevara started writing the songs at her apartment in Salt Lake City while attending community college and working full time, but had to return to her hometown for tragic reasons. “I found myself back in Logan, writing songs in my grandmother’s basement when my grandpa died,” she says “during that time I found a lot of solace in music—it gave me freedom to reflect and unpack everything I was feeling. And it made me appreciate the people around me and the opportunities and art I have in store for me in the future. It felt like a refresh button." Guevara’s return to Salt Lake City months later was bittersweet, but bolstered by her deepened connection to her family roots, she tapped into a vibrant, roiling, modern energy in her approach to music, and NPC began to take form. 

Next week, Maz will make her live debut on the road with Wallice, kicking off in Denver on Feb 13th and stopping in Salt Lake City, Boise, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco before performing in Los Angeles at Teregram Ballroom on Feb 21st.

Tour Dates:

2/13 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *

2/14 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell *

2/15 - Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club *

2/16 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos *

2/18 - Portland, OR @ The Old Church *

2/20 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent *

2/21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom *

* supporting Wallice

Photo credit: Ana Peralta Chong

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