Briston Maroney’s “Sunburn Fades” Just Like Memories
Stella Feinstein
“Sunburn Fades” is the second single from Maroney’s sophomore album, Ultrapure, due September 22. He plays all of the instruments on the album, including the acoustic guitar, nostalgic synth, twinkling piano, steady tambourine, and tantalizing drums. Lead single “Body” set the tone for the album’s deeply emotional journey from Maroney’s childhood to now.
Photo by Muriel Margaret
Written like a friend having an honest campfire-side confession, a simple guitar melody carries gut-wrenching, tear-wielding lyrics straight to the listener’s heart. Maroney, known for his empathetic indie-rock tracks, was worried about the relatability of his track. “I was afraid I was being too vague and too specific at the same time,” he said near the release.
“I always thought it was a song about loss (friends, moments, identity) but now that it’s yours I realize it was always about the power of sharing this one fantastical life with other people, that the best luck in the world is to look up from the wreckage and see the smiling faces of those who you love and who love you,” Maroney said. He ties these ideas in throughout the track, from the dissonance representative of his inability to hold on to the present, to the drums promising that good times will come again.
It’s a love song to his past, present, and future. It’s an ode to the world spinning around him. It’s a promise to never forget, to do better. It’s a masterpiece.
