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Best Wishes

by MAITA

supported by
ladyofmetal333
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ladyofmetal333 It's impossible to just have one favorite track, but Broken Down Boys is outstanding, as is Pay to Play. The songs are full of honesty, beauty, heart, soul, and oh yeah..they also rock!
gejarrett
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gejarrett What a gut-punch of a song. Original and vivid storytelling, and great music. Favorite track: Japanese Waitress.
Dave Jones
Dave Jones thumbnail
Dave Jones Are you having a bad day? Stress not going away when you do the breathing exercises? This album is my stress reliever. Apart other bands I have found on bandcamp, her voice can only be described as soothing honey in warm green tea on a slow Saturday morning. A long warm shower of sound that envelops you and you want nothing than to let the stress of you day or week fall away for a while. For me, it's kinda like that.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Color vinyl back in print on a lovely EMERALD GREEN!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Best Wishes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $26 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    MAITA's album on traditional black vinyl!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Best Wishes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a CD wallet with lyric insert.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Best Wishes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9 USD  or more

     

1.
A Beast 03:33
I do not speak of the ache in my shoulders They bear the burdens I willingly paid for
 You have your own they live deep in the folds of your cynical mind like mice 
I have been bit by them two times or thrice
 And the skin on my hand became tough to the touch Now they sleep deeply you oil the crease of my palm In all my dreams I’m more careful than kind
 Keep my two hands clean and my tongue on ice 
I dare you and dare you to fool me twice 
I’d pay any price to be right Cause you didn’t speak until it got real bad You didn’t speak then you broke what you had Let time run its course I never could forget but I’ll forgive like a dog
 Somewhere in my bones these wounds they make their homes but I’m glad you’re home 
I wait by the door licking the floor
 How long can a man ignore a beast and her sores I knew a girl who makes bare of the world
 Because the light that she wears takes more eyes than is fair She holds the weight of a heart that yearns foremost to love 
I saw her love and read her lover’s love 
She burned red I turned green did I know anything but when Push came to shove love it wasn’t enough we know nothing Cause he didn’t speak until it got real bad
 He didn’t speak are we to go mad Must time run its course I never could forget but I’ll forgive like a dog
 Somewhere in my bones these wounds they make their homes but I’m glad you’re home 
I wait by the door licking the floor
 How long can a man ignore a beast and her sores
2.
Raising hell like that which can rise From conditions unsterilized
 Cracks and corners sought like sunshine Makes a keen eye feel so blind I can see you all the while 
Falling inwards like you meant to 
This old film I can’t quite sit through Now I want to be alone without you Someone's walking out the back door Someone's drinking on the front porch Two shoulders from my left shoulder Wet lips spoke my name in code and Three steps from the source of water Pushing through to leave the center Hits me like a bullet proper
 We will all forget this place some day I'm gonna die where is the time 
Two hours took their shortcuts
 Three am and nothing for us 
All the music fades to chaos 
All the debts and promises 
Fulfilled blindly celebrated
 Someone’s lost their goddamn wallet I’m the one who’s not forgotten We’re all goners we’re all goners Now Automatic auto pilot
 This machine is idiosyncratic
 You’ll turn leftwards I’ll step backwards Check my pulse until I’m better 
Now I can see, I don’t want to leave 
I’m here to claim what was promised me Check the living room, target on the move Once I find you, I won’t follow you Now there’s still time to take the back door There’s still time to catch the ardor Drinking on the bitter water
 Turn us up for worse or better At some point I’ve seen these pictures Art class neon oily specters 
Portrait of the hostess tragic
 She has never cried a day in her life
 The chill is in, let’s stave it off 
You tell the joke, I’ll start the laugh
 We’ll find the stash and tip one back Whose joke was this? And here’s the trap I see it all and all I see
Is we are nothing actually
 And you are nothing actually 
And I am nothing actually 
I guess we’re not to worry 
I guess we shouldn’t worry We’re all goners we’re all goners Now
3.
I’m afraid of everything
 And everyone and everyone
 Catch me in some fearless state
 It won’t be long it won’t be long
 What am I what am I to do
 Everything I fear I’ll see comes true 
Cause I’m afraid of everything
 And everyone and everyone
 Catch that filly tie her up 
She can’t be trusted not to run
 What am I what am I to do
 Every word of warning rings so true 
I should want what all folks want to love and be thought kindly of
 I will speak the common tongue you are the only only one 
If I say it loud enough can I be done can I be done
 What are you what are you to do
 Everything I say is a half truth
 I should want what all folks want to love and be thought kindly of I’m so proud of all my friends and still I have to get the best of them Because I’m afraid of everything and everyone and everyone Yes I’m afraid of everything And everyone And everyone And everyone And everyone
4.
My old friend she used to be a dick
 She’s got millions of holes in her map by now and what’d she get So smart such a part time fool
 Putting up her paint just to rile up the crew
 And I stood still beside her
 Warming her plans while she laid out the others
 Now I’m so glad I wasn’t her
 I was catching the glow and then going back to mother 
 I’ve got a moment I’ll write it and spill it
 Cause the illness is creeping in
 Who can I pin it on well
 She stole all the light front the room
 I was the better friend
 I was one of the few
 And they all caught up to you
 Tore up the pavement like I knew they would
 And this is entirely half true
 I’m gonna bleed out the colors so I don’t hurt you 
 You can’t blame a kid any more than a dog
 Any move that she made
 Was the natural call
 Though I wish I could claim I was above it all
 I was there the whole time I just watched
 If I was let in maybe I’d take the fall
 And the world would be strange to behold from this hole
 But I was scared and ashamed And I ran from the frame
 As I still do today
 As I still do today
 But I cannot blame... I can’t blame a kid any more
5.
Wild, you flew across the room
 And bounced against the walls your arms
 Were painted gray like the hearth that birthed you Into a house that you should’ve never entered I left you in the desert with a broken down tent you said Your Mother would get you back for this
 I had just one sip
 Of your water it smelled acrid But it tasted sweet , How can it be, How can it You tell me that you cannot sing of broken down girls no more It’s no good look it’s just a country hook Besides you’re older now,
 Got your own shit to work out And so do I but my eyes are wide
 And here and there are pieces of these Broken down boys
 I typed the names in every square
 To find out whether time was fair
 But I never got the spelling right
 I looked through friends of friends of friends The circle broke scattered in the wind
 And Aaron lives in a hospital now
 You told tales of bruises, twisted ankles
 Half made homes and a bed gone cold
 And I was another hungry girl
 I said can I take a picture of you
 Print it out and frame it in blue
 Hang it on the wall of my room
 Keep it close to make myself feel better Keep it close to make myself feel older
6.
Pour me a glass I know this week we said we’d stay dry
 But Jesus I thought that man would never leave
 His suit is from Texas the room it bulged from the sheer size of his body and pride He asked me when I would walk on his back
 I just had to laugh and fill up his glass
 He looks at me when he says that his son needs a girl
 Like I wait around for duty to call on me
 But I must move on cause my boss says to evenly scatter my youth and my praise I must love them all the most and the same I hate pouring tea, it’s not what I studied to do
 I will pour the tea, that’s what they pay me to do Yuko she waits for a man to buy up all her time
 She may not look it but she’s getting too old for this
 Still she smiles when she speaks of the father her children lost He was a real rocket scientist
 Now she works her shifts and goes home and feeds her kids She will pour the tea, it’s what she is trained to do But not like this and not for you They say go be free, quit this place now and follow your dreams I caught myself watching the blue sky like it was a prize
 Jose says my hands could be softer than they in fact are
 He tells me if I have the chance I must go be a star He spent twenty years building his dream on his hard earned Beaverton property Says he’s selling it soon, he’s scared of this country
 Says he’s moving back south, he’s scared of this country I will pour the tea, I know they will pay me
 I will pour the tea cause art is not free
 Now I lay back tomorrow comes round too fast So Matthew please won’t you pour me a glass
7.
These wrists they are but fragile things They twist to mold to company
 And shaky hold up any two things Balanced blindly, bending rashly And if them tendons bruise so be it
 I repair them after every use, so be it These hands they write down everything On feeding patterns and breathing cadence Comparing notes with poets of last century They say honey, you’re temporary
 And so are you, so be it
 And if you choose to be alone
 I’ll break even And all the lonely parts
 They won’t speak, they won’t speak, they won’t speak
 And all the Angry parts
 They’ve hidden their teeth deep in the dark
 And all the selfish parts
 They take what they get and they hold their tongues And this Perfect heart
 It does what it does These legs they take on all the world
 They’re strong and they do what they’re told Walk thirteen miles three days sore
 Reach the outskirts and go ten more
 And if they must carry me from this place so be it Cause this city holds such precious things
 While it Burns the tongue and bothers sleep and Sucks me dry through my staring eye
 But I learn to walk and with my body lie
 And I’m lying pretty damn well these days And if it didn’t sell I was keeping it anyways If he ran away I was sick of him anyways, so And all the lonely parts, They won’t speak, they won’t speak, they won’t speak And all the Angry parts
 They’ve hidden their teeth deep in the dark
 And all the selfish parts They take what they get and they hold their tongues
 And all the Broken parts
 They’re set and they’re taped and they get it done and my Two clear eyes They’re painted vacant, they do not defy And this worn out line
 It suits me just fine let’s not waste our time Oh I really did try
 No matter, no matter, it’s fine because this Perfect heart
 It does what it does
8.
Evening it falls like a parachute twisted
 The daytime thoughts sifted through dust
 Something it glinted it shone for a moment
 A dying light begged to be caught
 But the candles burned down and we routed ourselves by the sound The insects in the ground
 I fight to be free and I fight not to care
 But the water is gone and next is the air On and on you say this can’t go on On and on my dear it won’t be long Morning it breaks we’re alive but we’re lost
 The dust killed our garden quicker than frost You say, Adeline, you will always be mine
 I brought you here I’ll get you out when it’s time For I’ve never seen your dress so unclean And your wedding band makes ghosts of your hands They used to play for me now they just pray for me Poor sweet thing, What I’ve made you believe On and on you say this can’t go on on and on my dear it won’t be long But darling, don’t take me when you’re ready to go I may be a fool but I’m no child I can be left alone. Fear took a form, never seen such a sight
 Oh half past noon and black as night
 You put your hand on the box of the gun
 As we gaze at the storm with nowhere to run From that day on you kept close to that gun One eye on the sky half dead and half drunk Swore on your life and on all that you had That I’d never be without my man Close your eyes the storm will make you blind Close your eyes I’m here right by your side Close your eyes and take my kindness Close your pretty eyes we cannot fight this But darling don’t take me when you’re ready to go I am such a fool but I’m no child I can be left alone And I too miss the money
 And I miss the honey And how you once touched me It’s gone, It’s gone But I’d rather shed my tears alone in this forsaken room Than sleep now forever with you
9.
Boy 05:03
My past is bigger than me Presses me down in my sleep I had enough for the bus
 You had enough to love me
 The pictures find me in the dark
 I chase them out I bark
 But I’ll never do you no harm
 Cause I go weak in your arms
 
 So pardon me please, I am green, I am weak, I just need someone next to my body
 You’ve got some years on me
 You’ve got the dignity
 I’ll keep you company
 
 If you were bad for me
 You’d still stay in bed with me Your anger sleeps neath your skin My memories eat from within
 But you have your medicine
 And I have my medicine She keeps her eyes off of me
 Windowsill tabletop boxes I carry
 I nod and you say that she doesn’t have sway But someday It will mean something
 Will me to walk out the door what’s the score
 Because I did the worse thing before and once more
 Well you have your own crimes I’m just one dick in line Keep me foremost in mind I’ll be fine Cause you don’t need me to be free
 I’m walking through streets as the moon follows me Yet here you are on my cellphone screen you are
 Miles away and you are lonely
 You are miles away and you are lovely 
 So pardon me please, I am green, I am weak
 I just need someone next to my body
 You’ve got some years on me
 You’ve got the dignity
 I’ll keep you company 
 You could be better to me
 Still you will never leave
 I know I'm wrong for you
 I happy belong to you
10.
Pay to Play 03:30
Flat white thick skin
 Two by fours and two inch screws
 I have
 Built this platform
 For your weekly conference meeting
 The rates are good for you
 Better than they should be
 It cost me more than it will for you
 But I
 Pay to be free
 I could get a real job if I wanted the nice things Now I’m hungry
 I have your praise now won’t you pay me? I love the race, I love the rain, I love the game I pay to play I pay to play Two more orders and another quarter
 Ten more bucks and a better shot
 Two more checks and I can quit this serving Five more years Five more years 
 Take all the money from us baby, we don’t deserve it
11.
I walk through the MOMA, try to burn out the smell
 Of the cosmetic anger, digital hell
 My feet flat on the city, I let my body learn
 I loved this place when I met you, being here makes me burn 
 Out on the terrace, double ledge from the wall Just as well I feel weak, always think I may fall, Now the fog’s rolling in it’s the promising hour I’d be heading home soon to drink a strong 22 Shave and pretend not to wait for you Your city is dead, My city is dying,
 It’s all fair I guess, It never really was mine Home always changes, It’s the nature of life All I have is my body for a place, for a time Best wishes, XO, hugs and kisses, goodbye Basement apartment, shaggy brown carpet
 Rock hard queen bed, rock star phantoms
 Mike tells me Jack and Meg slept here once too
 I did pray to the room won’t you send me a tune
 Now it’s glitter on the asphalt, paying out the ass for a Studio on the outskirts, coffee, and a clean shirt We talk shit about them they talk shit about us This place used to be nice before they messed it up And whenever you got here, it wasn’t quite soon enough People fall into debt and they fall out of love
 And they look down the street and say I knew you once And they look down the street say what have you become Your city is dead, My city is dying
 It’s all fair I guess, It never really was mine. I loved you once, For a place for a time Home always changes, you will be just fine Best wishes, XO, hugs and kisses, goodbye

about

“For me, songwriting comes from a place of wanting to find the truth in life. Sometimes that truth is so complex and nuanced that it requires a whole song to explain,” shares Maria Maita-Keppeler, the principal songwriter and front person for the Portland, Oregon-based indie rock band MAITA.

Maita-Keppeler’s bold vulnerability and literate flair is on full display on the quartet’s debut album, Best Wishes. The album will be out on venerated indie imprint Kill Rock Stars (‪Elliott Smith, ‪Sleater-Kinney, ‪the Decemberists) which is a story in itself. Until recently, KRS was headed up by Portia Sabin, whose husband Slim Moon founded the label. When Portia played MAITA’s record for Slim, who retired from the label 12 years ago, he experienced something of an epiphanic moment. “My love of MAITA, and my belief in Maria's songwriting, pulled me back into the record business,” Slim affirms. He has since returned to his original role as president of Kill Rock Stars.

Maita-Keppeler began experimenting with songwriting while soaking in the indie artists of the 2000’s such as Bright Eyes and Feist. She related to how these writers interweave reality and poetry, and resonated with their emotional candor, particularly in light of her tendencies toward emotional restraint while growing up.

“I have always had this desire to make sure everyone is happy and no one is dissatisfied or hurt,” Maita-Keppeler explains. “Music has been a place for me to demand the free space to say what I want to say.”

Best Wishes balances ethereal musicality with visceral expressiveness. This juxtaposition is mirrored in the arrangements through potent use of loud and soft dynamics and in Maita-Keppeler’s lyrics, which manage to be layered, literate, but also impactfully concise.

MAITA is Maria Maita-Keppeler, lead vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitar, and electric guitar; Matthew Zeltzer, electric guitar and harmony vocals; Nevada Sowle, bass; and Cooper Trail, piano, keyboards, drums, percussion, and harmonies. Best Wishes was produced by Maita-Keppeler and Zeltzer and tracked at the 100-year-old Ok Theatre in Enterprise, Oregon, and at Room 13 in Portland, Oregon. Previously, MAITA issued the 2017 EP Waterbearer and a clutch of singles.

credits

released May 15, 2020

Maria Maita-Keppeler: lead vocals, harmonies, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Matthew Zeltzer: electric guitar, harmonies
Nevada Sowle: bass guitar
Cooper Trail: piano, keyboards, drums, percussion, harmonies

with
Skip Vonkuske: cello (“Best Wishes…”)
John Morgan Askew: synth (“Can’t Blame A Kid”)

Produced by Maria Maita-Keppeler & Matthew Zeltzer
Engineered by Matthew Zeltzer & Bart Budwig
Mixed by: John Morgan Askew
Mastered by: JJ Golden

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MAITA Portland, Oregon

"I Just Want To Be Wild For You" available now on Kill Rock Stars.

MAITA uses her songs -- bursting, overflowing with language and sharp turns of phrase -- as a forum for unvarnished expression."- KEXP

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