MAITA has announced new album I Just Want To Be Wild For You, due out February 18, the Portland band’s second release on venerable indie label Kill Rock Stars. The new collection finds Japanese-American songwriter Maria Maita-Keppeler digging into that crippling oxymoron of modern times, the constant bombardment of communication paired with utter disconnection. Raucous lead single “Honey, Have I Lost It All?” echoes the frantic, questioning desperation that many artists feel when faced with the fear of inadequacy. Released today alongside an energetic video, the song careens onwards with big guitars, synths, catchy riffs, and a wordless vocal refrain that becomes the unexpected hook of the song. 

Growing up in Oregon splitting time between her mother’s Japanese-speaking home and her father’s English-speaking home, Maita-Keppeler found an expressive avenue out of her shyness through listening to songwriters like Elliott Smith, Feist, and Cat Power. Along with guitarist/producer Matthew Zeltzer, bassist Nevada Sowle, and multi-instrumentalist Cooper Trail, she tapped into that intimate longing, recording the album in a church basement studio with the sound of the grand piano matched only by the raindrops dotting across the 40-foot ceilings.

By picking apart the smallest moments of confusion, uncertainty, and disconnection, Maita-Keppeler’s songs achieve incredible heights of emotion. I Just Want To Be Wild For You grasps passionately for a world that too often seems at a gauzy distance, framing complex ideas with visceral songs that sink immediately into the heart. MAITA recently performed at Treefort Music Festival and has several shows coming up this fall.

Photo Courtesy: Tristan Paiige