Think of the dreamiest song you have heard and expand it into the span of an evening — that is the feeling that flooded the crowd as The Marías took the stage in a sold-out performance on Friday, Feb 11 at Buckhead Theatre.
The Los Angeles-based indie-pop band crafts intimate, bilingual songs sprinkled with sounds of jazz, Latin and R&B influences.
Before The Marías took the stage, the crowd was wooed by the band Maye with their slick, groove-inducing set playing hits like “Tú’’ and “Descifrar.” The band had amazing energy and chemistry that set the perfect mood for the rest of the night.
As the crowd eagerly awaited The Marías, a massive arch was silhouetted by red lights, following the aesthetics of their debut album, “Cinema.” Before long, the house lights went low as a recording began to play.
A deep voice introduced The Marías and asked the audience to keep masks on. The band came onto the stage with their lush, instrumental track “Just a Feeling,” before jumping right into the moody and atmospheric “Calling U Back.”
The crowd was incredibly energetic and understandably so, as the show was a sort of homecoming for lead singer María Zardoya, who is an Atlanta native. Zardoya’s hypnotic voice, combined with the tight instrumentals, had the crowd swaying in time to the band’s dreamy songs.
The band’s debut album “Cinema” is inspired by its namesake and aptly shown in set aesthetics. The album presents itself in a similar fashion to a film, where “each song is its own individual scene in its own individual world” but comes together as one cohesive vision, as said by Zardoya.
As successful as the recording of the album is in seeing this vision through, it translates even better in concert. Songs like “Un Millón” pulled the crowd into a scene of a dance party, while songs like “Spin Me Around” lured the crowd into a psychedelic dream sequence.
The group also played a plethora of tracks from previous EPs “Superclean Vol. I” and “Superclean Vol. II” that fit perfectly in the set, with standouts like “Ruthless,” “Over the Moon” and “Clueless.”
For an encore performance, the band ended with their hit “Cariño.” In Spanish, the use of the word cariño illustrates a deep affection; and as the horns cascaded through the driving guitars and drums with Zardoya singing “Cariño, eres tu amor / There’s something about you babe,” the feeling of love and affection from the band was inexplicably present, a celebration of coming together and playing for a crowd once again.
As the crowd left on Friday night, there was no doubt that the feeling was mutual.
With everyday life being fairly stressful and fast-paced — especially as a student — artists like The Marías are incredibly comforting to provide an escape, even if just for a few minutes.
The live experience of the band was truly a sight to see, and for the two hours of the concert, life felt like a dream.