MAPLE MARS begins the countdown to the announcement of their new album – the celebrated LA psych-pop band's first in over a decade! – with the June 17 release of their new single “Gliding”, up for pre-order at www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com now, and streaming everywhere worldwide on the street date. True to its name, the tune is a soaring and instantly memorable slice of yearning vocals, churning guitars, and urgent rhythms... the sound of a band set to take the summer by storm. The followup to the band's 2021 surprise return with the hit single “Goodbye California”, “Gliding” offers fans another thrilling preview of what's to come on the forthcoming MAPLE MARS album, due in July on vinyl, CD, and all digital formats from Big Stir Records. Look for an official presale announcement soon!

“Gliding” kicks off a season of intense activity for MAPLE MARS that will include a high-profile video release for the song, and the band's return to the live stage at a gala record release party in LA on July 30. The renowned live energy and chemistry of MAPLE MARS – singer-guitarist songwriter RICK HROMADKA, guitarist STEVE BERNS, drummer RON PAK and bassist JOE GIDDINGS – is a big part of what makes “Gliding” (and the new album) a leap forward, even for a band that's been a favorite of critics and power pop scenesters since their 2001 debut. The sound is bigger, brasher, and tighter than ever before, and won't be mistaken for Hromadka's equally fine but more subdued solo output: this is unmistakably a band record, of just the kind we've been desperately needing for the past two years, and one of the most exciting albums of the year.

And what a rush the single its, unfolding first with a lush piano-and-moog introduction teasing the song's melody before driving drums, pulsing bass and intertwining guitars kick in and the song takes flight. “The song is a metaphor for being free after a relationship gone bad,” explains Hromadka, and you can hear that freedom both in his impassioned vocal delivery – aided and abetted by the whole band on shimmering harmonies – and the lyrics. “Ascending, sailing / Through the bright white clouds cleansing my reason / Off to brighter skies,” he sings, on the way to a completely unforgettable chorus.

The soon-to-be-released video for the song lends yet another layer of emotional resonance to the lyrics (keep an eye open for its premiere). And the theme of travel and transformation evident on “Gliding” suffuses the entire forthcoming album from MAPLE MARS. Musically, emotionally, philosophically and perhaps even spiritually, it may be just what the world needs. Someone's got to listen... and soon, fans of the band – and impassioned, finely crafted pop rock with energy to spare – will be delighted to do just that.