Photo by Alexzandra Roy
Don Giovanni Records has announced that Cincinnati, Ohio's MAURA WEAVER will release their debut album I Was Due For A Heartbreak on September 15, 2023. The album was recorded by John Hoffman (Wussy, Vacation, Big Eyes).
Despite being a tried and true native, Cincinnati has had a difficult time claiming Maura Weaver as their own. Nearly fifteen years of touring with peripheral regional projects (Mixtapes, Ogikubo Station, The Homeless Gospel Choir, Direct Hit!, The Mimes) has kept her tethered to both the road and to sounds that were not always her own.
Today, Maura released the album's first single with a must see music video for "Crush On You, Pt. II"
The track is available now across all streaming platforms and Bandcamp now.
I Was Due For A Heartbreak is available for pre-order on limited edition light blue vinyl now HERE.
The solo endeavor marks the beginning of an autonomous output for her vision, harkening to sounds that are distinct to Ohioʼs brand of humble experimentation, roots aesthetics and pop-centric reliability.
The first single "Crush On You, Pt. II" - streaming everywhere now - is a melodic pop gem that will demand several subsequent re-listens.
Maura Explains:
I’ve wanted to do a solo project since I was a teenager, so why is it happening now? For so long I’ve stood in my own way and kept busy being in a ton of bands. I had trouble trusting myself and rarely completed songs. It wasn’t until pandemic isolation that I was forced to confront the reasons why. I also experienced a couple of bad breakups and songwriting became a haven, but also a fun daily practice. I wrote as much as possible in two years and in the soup were sad songs, silly songs, dumb songs. So much came together on the spot in the studio. The best songs ended up on the album and I really put all of myself into this. I’ve never been more excited to share something.
Crush On You Pt. II is a fun one and is the first single. It started out as a little power pop ditty fleshed out by a $17 Casio keyboard I bought at a flea market. For the studio version, we retained a lot of the same elements we used in the demo. I wanted it to sound hi-fi but homemade, wonky and imperfect. We recorded it in the basement of John’s old house. It needed to have the bliss and fuzz that is the nature of a crush!
We filmed the video back in January of 2022 at the Lodge in Dayton, KY. Scott Beseler killed it with directing and shooting even though we were very distracting. Rachel McNeal provided the coolest chainmail pieces. Thanks to Emma Roberts for being a killer queen, John Clooney a priest, Megan Schroer a witch and John Hoffman a peasant. Zack Moser took my initial edit and added sick effects, coloring, and ran it past the finish line. So proud of what we did :)
I Was Due For A Heartbreak Track List:
1. Ease On The Eyes
2. Crush On You Pt. II
3. As If Your Love
4. Sunshine
5. Languish In Anguish
6. Jefferson Highway
7. Nothing, Not Yet
8. Goner
9. I Was Due For A Heartbreak, I Guess
10. The Confines