Ideally, bands form together when there’s a harmony brewing between members. It’s only once it stops being congenial that bands split up. That “ideally” is doing a lot of work because many bands create despite themselves, not because.

Ultimate Painting was a band made from Jack Cooper (Mazes, Modern Nature) and James Hoare (Veronica Falls). For three albums (four if you count the “unreleased” Up!) they crafted personal, introspective music. Not quite folk, not quite rock. It was a beautiful set of intimate records.

I was a fan of Mazes since day one, and I interviewed Jack Cooper in 2011. A quote from him stuck with me forever: “You get to a certain age and you understand you didn’t appreciate what it was to be like to be a kid.” I think that made me connect straight up with Mazes and every project he’s worked on afterwards. He’s clinched this feeling, part regret, part realisation.

The Ocean brims with nostalgia. Rose tinted glasses and faded memories swell through the pacey track. I’ve never actually taken inspiration from this track for writing, but I feel it could’ve gave me ideas to stories. Perhaps one day. For now, it’s a song I need on repeat when I’m editing or re-reading whatever purple prose I have waiting for a clean up (or axing). I connect deeply with the lyrical work, as it reminds me of family holidays to Tampico. Isn’t that what makes a song great?

-Sam J. Valdés López