Maripool is the self-described ‘one girl band’ of London-based Portuguese songwriter Natasha Simões. Having self-released her first two EPs, she’s today shared her first single for the label Strong Island Records, “Blindness”. She reveals:
“I wrote ‘Blindness’ during the first lockdown, I was listening to a lot of punk and midwest emo so felt natural to change the direction a bit. It was inspired by the Book ‘Blindness’ by José Saramago, I was really intrigued with the narrative of everyone becoming blind except one person. I put that into perspective and wrote about it.”
The inspiration from José Saramago is evident not just in the lyricism of the song, but in the way that it creeps on darkly twanging guitars – a highly sensory sound that beckons you in. Maripool keeps the song moving forwards with shadowy and slithering melodies, while her voice matches the surroundings with an air of quiet menace. Not content to let “Blindness” run its course in one form, towards the end she injects a brightly melodic guitar line that lifts the whole song into a pool of sunlight – an uplifting surprise, as if seeing for the first time after having been blind for your entire life.
You can watch the VHS-filmed video for “Blindness” below, or listen to it on streaming platforms along with the b-side, “Emilio”.
Hopefully it’s a sign of much more to come from Maripool, so make sure to follow her on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Instagram.
