The Marías

When The Marías’ co-founders—lead singer María Zardoya and multi-instrumentalist and producer Josh Conway—concluded their eight-year relationship, it could have easily spelled the end of the LA quartet. But after going to therapy as a band, a couple, and individually, the core pair and their bandmates decided to continue onward. “What we do is so much bigger than any relationship we’ll have,” Conway told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “This band affects so many more people than two.” Formed in 2016, The Marías quickly stood out for their smooth convergence of disparate influences. Zardoya sings in both English and Spanish and takes cues from jazz and neo-soul, while Conway looks more to atmospheric indie rock. Their collaboration melds those sounds gorgeously, with Conway introducing more Latin touches over time and Zardoya guiding their dreamy, lightweight songs with quite personal lyrics. After their 2021 debut album CINEMA and a team-up with Bad Bunny the following year, The Marías re-emerged with 2024’s Submarine, which mined the couple’s breakup for the inspiration behind the band’s most affecting songs to date. That led to a global sleeper hit with the ultra-delicate “No One Noticed,” followed by a Best New Artist nod at the Grammys two years later. It turns out being true to oneself—pain and all—is something a whole lot of people relate to. “There’s a lot that I want to say,” Zardoya told Lowe in the same 2024 interview, “and the only way that I can really express myself in an honest way is through music.”