MAITA Concert at Churchall School

Maria Maita-Keppler takes us track-by-track through her band's unfiltered, uncompromising, and unapologetic third album 'want' – an intimate, invigorating, and all-consuming indie rock record that boldly embraces desire, unpacking what it means to follow your heart, trust your gut, and act in your own self-interest.

The Japanese-American singer-songwriter applies that same approach to her band, MAITA; she only writes songs she intends to finish. She only makes cuts in service of the whole. And once the debris has been blown away, the melodies remain — vibrant, sharp, and often heartbreaking. The band’s latest LP, want, out July 25 via Fluff & Gravy Records, is all of the above. A razor’s edge look at a relationship in turmoil, the record serves to strip away everything undesired in Maita-Keppeler’s life, leaving behind only that titular word: want.

“The album allowed me this opportunity to be a little more courageous about my feelings,” Maita-Keppeler says. “I grew up feeling very much like the peacekeeper. Now, I have to be really assertive about what I want for myself.” See? Bold.