British Post-punk band Maruja released their ground-breaking first album Pain to Power on Sept. 12 of this year. This album was highly anticipated, as both of their previous EPs were received very highly by critics and fans alike. Combining the loud open sounds of rock and punk, with the eerie, intense instrumental builds of a horror soundtrack.
“Pain to Power” is the definition of a protest album, with lyrics begging listeners to choose peace and love over hatred and greed.
The opening track, “Bloodsport” exemplifies this by talking about the thrill and apathy that comes from a world that feels evil. Harry Wilkinson, Maruja’s lead singer, yells about a world where profit is king, people are treated with an eye for an eye, and a silence as if our spirits have died. He repeats “I’m an addict, addicted to my bad habits” throughout the song, lamenting how the world pulls him into doing things he doesn’t want to do, that he knows are bad for him. Towards the end of the song, however, you can see Wilkinson try to reach through the drowning hatred, stating, “It takes courage to try and find some inner peace, it takes courage to recognize our own flaws,” in an attempt to help ground himself to be better.
The opening track contrasts the track that follows, which is my personal favorite, “Look Down On Us”. This track tears into the upper class, calling out the wealthy for “looking down” on the poor, laughing while they extort and commit atrocities. It calls out politicians for caring more about money than policy. The final verse is Wilkinson’s attempt to reconcile this new world, talking about how we all look “above” for a solution, instead of within. He then posits that love is the solution, perhaps a stereotypical message, but he defends it vehemently, calling love his god, asking listeners to swallow their hate, to work together to be stronger and not let the world leaders and evils in charge win.
Love in the face of surrounding darkness could very well be the tagline for this album, as Maruja blares with bass, drums, trumpets and saxophones under lyrics of hope and wanting for unity. “Saiorse”, the third track, is about letting yourself be yourself around other people, to take others as they are, with the chorus stating simply, “It’s our differences that make us beautiful.”
“Born to Die” is about doing things for the sake of doing them, for the sake of self-fulfillment, to ignore the constant pressure to capitalize and profit off your passions, and to do things for you. The chorus here sarcastically chants, “Are we all just born to die?” while the verses speak to building something not just for you, but for the future, in lyrics such as “Generational growth is a thing we must command, enrapture what’s in front of us and dilate it with our hands.”
Rage takes center stage on the track “Break the Tension”. The song takes the stance that while rage can feel justified, it does not lead to productive change, simply leading to more tension, never leading to a resolution, that can ultimately only come from love.
The closing track, “Reconcile”, is a capstone on the message of protest, peace, and love in an era of hate. The closing track declares art the power of the soul, and that we need to create and believe in the love we make. The album closes with the lines, “Have no fear, pray for love”.
This album is an important piece of music in the modern age, one which calls people into action, to work together, to accept people for who they are in order to stand against the tyranny and darkness in the world. This album is summed up best by the lyrics it references in the title of the album. Turn pain to power, put faith in love, be firm and loyal, in yourself put trust, be twice the ocean, be twice the land, be twice the water, for your sons and daughters. And love “

Rating 10/10