Ultrapure album review

Briston Maroney

Folk singer and songwriter Briston Maroney released his debut album Sunflower in 2021. Although his rise to fame was largely credited to his 2020 single “Freakin’ out on the interstate”, his career as an artist started in 2013 after his appearance placing top 30 on American Idol at only 13 years old. 

Although Briston Maroney only has two full albums released, he has produced several singles and EPs. 

Maroney’s award-winning career started with the release of his first EP, “Big Shot” in 2017 shortly followed with “Carnival” and “Indiana ”. Since, Maroney has harbored international attention with his debut album, Sunflower and most recent album of Ultrapure

Totaling at 2.6 million monthly listeners, Marooney has quickly risen to fame and became a popular name in the music industry. 

Ultrapure

Maroney’s sophomore album depicts his struggles coming to terms with growing up.

Unlike Maroney’s past works, Ultrapure features a majority of mellow, melancholic, and raw tracks. While this may come as a disappointment to fans of Maroney’s previous up-beat works such as ‘Freakin’ Out on the Interstate’ and ‘June,’ the pivot in his music style gracefully portrays the emotional breakthrough. This breakthrough is described in Ultrapure.

Ultrapure is all about letting go of preconceived notions of life and growing into adulthood. In this album, Maroney’s ability to be vulnerable and share his experience with love and loss, failure and success and addressing the universally daunting task of growing up remind his audience that they are not alone in their struggles.

Opening the 40 minute album, “Body” summarizes the recurring themes of the album. In this track, Maroney emphasizes the importance of embracing life and cherishing life through all experiences, both negative and positive. Repetition of the line “someday my body will be just a body” highlights his perspective on life, giving insight as to why he cherishes life so greatly. 

“Breath” immediately following “Body”, describes the feelings of being lost and confused. Lyrics “I’ve been living my life, overthinking the options … What if the best option, is none of these at all?” display the mind of an overthinker, second guessing everything. The feelings of confusion and overthinking in “Breath” are feelings high school students are all too familiar with. Whether it be academic or personal issues, every student has experienced some sort of confusion and second guessing in their lives. 

“Ultrapure”, the closing track of the album, is a clear portrayal of the essence of this album. The lyric “I was born to forgive you, ultrapure like a child” is stated in the 1st track of the album, then repeated again in the final track, beautifully tying ends together and closing the album. 

Throughout this album, it is clear that Maroney has evolved not only in his perspective on life, but also his music style. 

Briston Maroney’s most recent album Ultrapure is a beautiful reflection of adulthood and being faced with the reality of growing up and showcases Maroney’s growth and promising future in the music industry.

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